Black and White
by Bloodredalchemist
Summary: The Organization finds yet another Nobody to join their cause. Now with this new addition to the group,they've set their sights upon an exSOLDIER currently, residing in Hollow Bastion...
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: Organization XIII finds another Nobody to join their cause. Now with this new addition to the group, the Nobodies have set their sights upon a moderately depressed, sullen, ex-SOLDIER mercenary residing in Hollow Bastion... **

**Well...For those who know me, you will know...that I am a videogame plotline addict. Which probably kind of explains my addiction to anime and manga. Maybe...not really...no...**

**Well, recently I started playing FF 8, FF7 Kingdom Hearts/ Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories /Kingdom Hearts II (sort of) , the joys of emulators. And well...I'm kind of hooked...mainly because of Organization XIII. I find the idea of the Nobodies really uh...cool, soooooo I came up with this little fic, which is kind of Cloud, Organization XIII-centric... Since, like...Cloud is cool, and so is Vincent...WHY IS THERE NO VINCENT IN KINGDOM HEARTS??? WHY!?!?! **

**Bloodredalchemist (god I hate my pen name), does not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney characters or the Final Fantasy Characters. Neither does she own the cereal brand Trix, for which one of her characters is named after...**

* * *

"So…what do we do with her?" asked Demyx, peering at their most recent acquisition.

"Well, if we let her join, we're going to have difficulty telling her apart from Zexy here…" started Axel, when he was interrupted curtly by Number VI.

"It's Zexion…" said the Schemer coldly.

"On top of that...aren't we out of numbers?" continued Axel completely ignoring his superior. "We can't just rename the Organization, Organization XIV now can we?"

Surprisingly there were a number of murmured assents to this point.

"True…XIII is really a good number for the name…"

"XIV just doesn't sound ominous enough…"

"Organization XIV? That sounds pretty lame…"

As comments of a similar nature were being passed around the room, the newest Nobody rolled her eyes irritably.

"If you don't really want me here, then why did you even bother bringing me here?" she muttered irritably. "Maybe I should just leave…" she mused aloud softly.

Beneath the debate of whether or not XIII was a superior number to XIV, only Zexion, with his acute senses, heard what the girl had said.

"That would be unnecessary," he told her, redirecting everyone's attention towards the silver-haired teenager below them.

"Your power is remarkable…and the smell of darkness is quite prevalent around you…"

"…Maybe I should've hung out with better company…" she remarked dryly.

Demyx giggled.

"She has a sense of humor…"he paused, "I don't get it…"

A few groans were passed around the room at number IX's stupidity. The Melodious Nocturne was not known for neither his intelligence, nor his fighting prowess.

"If you didn't get it, then why did you think it was a joke?" asked the new Nobody pointedly. She looked around the room at all the seated dark-cloaked figures.

"How am I supposed to believe that the twelve of you will be able to help me get my heart back? I distinctly remember the thing being ripped out of my being by at least a hundred heartless…"

The Superior looked down at the girl considering his next words.

"You remember your Other, your Somebody, right?"

"Yes…" she answered warily, "Tori Walker..."

"Do you remember what it felt like to have a heart?"

"Get to the point. I didn't follow your grey-haired lapdog through that doorway just to answer stupid questions," she growled, pointing at Zexion.

"Hey, hey," said Axel grinning, "Is that any way to talk about a superior?"

"Shut up carrot-head, I wasn't talking to you and last I checked, I don't belong to your little group."

"Oh, feisty little girl aren't you," smirked the red-headed Nobody. This girl was truly intriguing. She looked to be about Roxas' age, maybe a year older. She had silvery grey hair that hung in a very similar manner to that of Number VI's, mostly covering the right eye, except that her hair was cut more evenly than that of Zexion's. If it wasn't for the colour and the girl's gender, it would be hard to tell the two apart…that and the eyes. Whereas Zexion had dark coloured eyes, the girl's were a pale glowing green…very much like those of a certain mercenary in Hollow Bastion.

The girl made a noise that sounded like a threatening growl, but Axel ignored it. He was used to hearing similar noises, mainly coming from Xigbar or Xaldin when he really pissed them off.

"You remember what it was like to have hope, don't you?" asked the Superior. Axel had to smile. So he was playing that game.

Nobodies couldn't feel, but they could think for themselves, and they could remember. In order to cope with the emptiness of living without a heart, most of them acted like they did indeed have hearts. Without feeling, all the Nobodies had left to them was thought and memory…and spending too much time with those two things usually led to turning into an almost useless Dusk, or worse…Larxene. Not that Nobodies could suddenly change sex, but the one female member of the Organization was a bloodthirsty sadist. Axel suspected that her former self had something to do with it, but to him it was clear that Larxene had fallen into her memories and her thinking had led her to become what she was. Not that he'd ever tell her. He didn't fancy getting his head ripped off…

"No."

Surprisingly it was Zexion who answered for the girl.

"Tori Walker had never felt hope," he said not looking up from the book he was reading.

_Where the blazes did he get that thing?_ He was pretty sure that when Number VI had walked into the meeting room, he did _not_ have a book on him.

"How would you know that?"

"The girl was clearly a pessimist if her Nobody is anything to go by," he said in his usual monotonous voice, "Besides, that world clearly had no room for such trivial emotions like hope." He added, still not looking up from his book.

The girl looked at him with a slightly more approving light in her eyes.

"So he's _not_ just a mindless idiot…" she muttered loudly, which drew snickers from Marluxia and Larxene.

"Would you like to know what hope feels like?" asked the Superior.

"Not particularly…" the girl said, "I just want my heart back."

"You realize that joining Organization XIII is the best way to do that, do you?"

She just looked at him skeptically. None of the member's of Organization XIII dared to look at Xemnas that way. This Nobody was bold and headstrong…and a cynic as well…This could be interesting.

Xemnas looked around to the others.

"The rest of you can go. I have something to show this little girl."

The rest of the Organization traded knowing looks. Some of them looked kind of regretful. They would have loved to see this kid's face when she saw Kingdom Hearts.

"Don't call me 'little girl'"

"Compared to me, you're nothing more than a little girl."

"So would that make you an old decrepit man?"

Xemnas got the idea that this girl really knew how to make even those who couldn't feel get really irritated…

"Follow me."

"Why should I?"

That smart mouth of hers would be the death of her….

"You wanted to know how we would get your heart back, I'm going to show you."

Reluctant to show that she was actually interested, the girl feigned indifference and shrugged.

"Might as well, I've got nothing better to do…"

"We'll soon fix that…"

8.8.8

"So…your new name is Trix?" said Demyx, genuinely interested.

The girl nodded silently. Who was this guy following her around anyway? He must have noticed that she had no clue as to who he was.

"Oh, I'm Number IX, the Melodious Nocturne!" declared the blonde with the pseudo-mullet. "Demyx," he said extending his hand. Trix, as she was now known by, took it after a long awkward pause during which she just stared at his hand as if it had something on it. She had never shook hands with anyone before. It was too dangerous, you never could trust anyone…not family, not friends, no one. Midgar was not a place one could live in peacefully, what with the Shin-Ra running everything…It made her sick sometimes to think of what they had done to her home…of what _she_ had done…

She shook her head slightly to dispel those thoughts. Midgar was behind her. That was Tori Walker's home. This place in the twilight, between light and dark was hers…This was Trix's place. Tori Walker had a heart, and thus had no place here.

"Ummm…your other's name was Tori wasn't it?" said Demyx tentatively, completely unaware of Trix's obvious discomfort.

She nodded silently yet again.

"So, uh…what happened to the 'o'"

"The Superior said that no good anagram could come out of 'Tori', so he removed the 'o'…rather unnecessary…" she said monotonously.

"Woah, you really sounded just like Zexy there…"

"What?"

"Oh, sorry. I meant Number VI. Zexion, the one who…"

"I am fully aware of who you're talking about." said Trix cutting him off curtly.

Demyx smiled at her.

"You sound just like him. Always so serious. If I hadn't been there to see you smart-mouthing the Superior, I'd think you were one of Vexen's replicas…"

Before he could start rambling on about this Vexen person, Trix decided to cut him off then and there.

"Demyx…why are you following me?" she finally decided to ask him, stopping in the middle of the hallway.

"Oh…just…uh…ummmmmm….I forgot…"

"Were you supposed to tell me something?" she asked, wondering how on earth someone like him got into this Organization. From what she could tell, this place was pretty strict…

"No, I mean Yes! Yes I was supposed to…uh…"

"Were you told to do this by the Superior?" she prompted.

"No…I think it was Number VII…or was it Marluxia…?"

This guy was seriously beginning to get on her nerves, couldn't he just hurry up and remember?

"Oh yeah! I remember now!!" he shouted gleefully, clapping his hands together like a little kid. "Lexaeus asked me to teach you how to open a portal!"

Trix sighed softly. At least it wasn't something stupid…though this Demyx's behaviour was kind of weird. He was older than her…but he acted like he was ten years younger.

"Okay," she said, "Show me."

"What?"

"You just said that you were going to teach me how to open a portal, so," she said, with a small head jerk, "show me."

8.8.8

She was a fast learner, that was for sure. Demyx had shown her only once how to open the portals to darkness, and that had been all she needed. Admittedly she did ask Demyx to describe in words, exactly what it was he had done. Demyx had fumbled around, and practically tripped over his own words, but it seemed that it had been enough. So now only after a month in the Castle that Never Was, Trix was being sent out on a Nobody acquisition mission. Of course, the girl whose number was pending, due to all sorts of technicalities, would not be going alone…She was going with two others…just in case she was as pathetic Demyx when it came to fighting. The choice of the two others was surprising. Axel and Zexion. Why? Only the Superior knew…and maybe Saix. That man was a shameless suck-up.

Zexion had his own suspicions, but he kept them to himself. The controversy over what Trix's number ought to be mainly came from Axel. Trix would be Number XIII over Axel's dead body, as he put it. Roxas was Number XIII, the Key of Destiny and always would be. Zexion could not understand Axel's attachment to the younger boy. They had been friends, they had gotten along, but the two of them were just kidding themselves. They couldn't _feel_ a friendship. Axel just wished he had a heart…he was beginning to lose to his memories.

Why Zexion had been chosen to go was however, another question. Maybe it was suggested by Xigbar, just as a joke. Everyone kept poking fun at Zexion for his extreme similarity to the girl. On his own part, Zexion saw little to no similarity between them. Trix was stubborn, bold and straightforward…when she felt like it. Actually, Trix could be anything when she felt like it. It seemed as if she kept changing personalities in order to prove that that she truly felt nothing and was perfectly capable of adapting to any situation. Zexion mainly acted on his instincts. Making him act like a cold and calculating person, which suited him perfectly.

"Are we going yet?" asked Trix impatiently.

"Hold on, girlie. You don't even know where we're going!" laughed Axel.

"Do _you_?" she asked pointedly, at which Axel scowled. In fact, the only one who knew their destination was Zexion, who in order to confirm his suspicions as to the odd grouping for this mission, had created the illusion that he was busy 'packing'. He was known for calculating every move, and being over-prepared for everything, which he wasn't. No one really realized that almost all of his great mission exploits were made up entirely on the spot. It wasn't his being careful that led to success, it was his intelligence. But since he already had that particular reputation, he might as well take advantage of it.

"Don't you go smart-mouthing me Trix. I could fry you into Oblivion right here and now."

"You just keep telling yourself that."

The tension was beginning to get a bit much so early on in the day…Zexion decided to take that moment to appear through an illusion portal. There was no point using a portal to go two steps, so he might as well just fake it.

"Well you took your sweet time Zexy," muttered Axel.

"Stop calling me that…" muttered the grey-haired Nobody irritably, extending a hand to open up a portal.

"Our destination is Hollow Bastion, we are to obtain the Nobody of Cloud Strife."

* * *

**Well, now isn't that just the best line to end off the first chapter? I hope people like Trix... I kind of do...most of the time...when she doesn't feel like being a jerk...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, if you've read the first chapter, then you know what's coming up...Everyone's favourite villain...sort of...okay, no, the Millenium Earl is not going to pop in here... But, but but!! Tetsuya Nomura's best villain (in my opinion) Sephiroth...gets mentioned...ooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhh...**

**Bloodredalchemist( I seriously need to change the name...) Still, as of yet, does not own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Disney, nor the cereal Trix.**

* * *

"Doesn't he already exist?"

The two men looked towards the teenaged girl standing in front of them.

"Cloud Strife's darkness, his Nobody," she said, "Doesn't he already exist?" she repeated.

What in Kingdom Hearts was this girl talking about?

Suddenly she grabbed her head and shook it adamantly. So this was a piece of knowledge from her Other's memory…

"Sephiroth…Sephiroth and Cloud…Cloud was made from Sephiroth…"

"What?"

"…Or was it the other way around?? It doesn't matter…the Jenova Project was a failure, it doesn't matter…It has nothing to do with us…"

"Huh? What's she talking about?" asked Axel pointing at her. Zexion just shrugged and noted all of this information mentally. Jenova Project? What was that?

"Are you done yet?" asked Zexion impassively. Trix shook her head a couple more times, and then finally let go of it.

"I apologize…I'm still not used to the…Other side…"

"Ah, you'll get over it soon. It's just a phase that's all…Demyx is still going through it. It's called puberty," said Axel with a straight face.

Trix glared at him. If looks could kill…

"If the childish jokes are over with…" said Zexion calmly, indicating his portal. Trix nodded and stepped through, followed by Axel, who grinned at Zexion before actually stepping in.

"You know what, I think I may like this girl."

"Oh."

Axel laughed.

"The look on your face! It's priceless!!"

Zexion mildly wondered whether or not his normally expressionless features had changed or not.

"Just kidding. It's the same as ever…I was hoping you'd crack up or something."

Zexion just looked at him.

"Okay, okay, I'm going!" said the red-head entering the darkness. After about a ten-second pause, Zexion followed suit.

8.8.8

"Well…so now what?" asked Sora, looking around from Leon to Yuffie to Aerith, to Cid, and finally to his two travelling companions.

"There are little to no Heartless, fewer Nobodies, and we haven't seen the Organization since who knows when!" he exclaimed.

"We're all well aware of that Sora…If you have nothing better to do why not help us with the Restoration committee?" suggested Aerith.

"But that's…" he was about to say boring, but he guessed that it would hurt their feelings. These guys really cared about their home world.

"But that's what?" asked Yuffie, peering down at him. When did she get so close to him??

"Ummm…uhh…"

"I hope the word that would've followed wasn't 'boring'"

"Ummm…well, uh…."  
Just then Tifa came barging in to save Sora's day…sort of.

"Have any of you guys seen Cloud?"

"Oh, he went Sephiroth hunting again…" answered Aerith.

Sora nodded. Cloud had sworn that the next time he met Sephiroth, he would put an end to the silver-haired man.

"Hey. Just exactly what happened between those two before?"

"Hmmm…good question, I don't really know…" noted Yuffie.

"Cloud is a SOLDIER. An elite unit of fighters. Sephiroth was supposed to be the greatest of all of them."

"Okay…so then why does Cloud want to kill him?"

"I dunno. Maybe Sephiroth dumped him or something…"

"WHAT??"

"I'm just kidding!" laughed Yuffie, "You're so gullible Sora!!"

The brown-haired boy flushed involuntarily. It wasn't his fault that he was so trusting…Okay, sure it was his fault, but you couldn't blame him for it.

"Why don't you ask him?" suggested Aerith.

"Well…umm…Cloud must be really busy and all…"

"He doesn't have any leads, so I bet he's probably just hanging around the item store or something." Said Leon.

"Are you just afraid of him?"

"NO!!" declared Sora instinctively.

"Then what's the big deal?" smiled Aerith. Argh. When Aerith smiled at you like that…it made you feel like you fell into some sort of trap…

"I know Cloud isn't the most social type of guy," said Tifa, "But he really does enjoy being around other people. Not necessarily talking. He's really good to talk at. Much better than Leon."

"To… 'talk at'??"

"Just go talk to him. If he doesn't answer, just keep talking, he's listening, even if he does look like he's asleep."

"O-Okay…Donald, Goofy, do you wanna go too?"

"Nah…"

So _they_ were kind of scared of Cloud…

8.8.8

In order to better camouflage within Hollow Bastion, it was required that the three Nobodies not wear their identifying cloaks. It felt rather odd to be wearing clothes that he hadn't worn since he had been one of Ansem the Wise's apprentices…when he had been Ienzo. Zexion felt a bit embarrassed in his orange and red shirt and his old torn jeans, but he didn't have anything else 'normal' other than those. He had been the youngest of all of the apprentices…so he had gotten everyone's hand-me downs. He was pretty sure that the orange shirt had belonged to Aeleus at one point, since it was far too wide for him, and the pants had probably been either Barig or Dilan's at one point, with all those holes in them. Axel was dressed in, an unsurprisingly bright red shirt to match his hair and the black pants that everyone wore beneath the Organization coat. Where he had gotten the shirt was beyond him. Trix was wearing the clothes Zexion had found her in, although they had obviously been repaired. She wore a white collared dress shirt and dark pants. It seemed to be some sort of uniform for wherever Tori Walker had worked before. She even had a type of suit jacket too…but that was tied around her waist. If people saw a fifteen-year old wearing a suit, it would be too weird…

"Nice clothes Zexion…aren't they a bit big for you?" snickered Axel.

Zexion ignored the comment and began to process all the information they had about Hollow Bastion and Cloud Strife through his mind. Hollow Bastion had a rather sophisticated security system, capable of detecting Heartless and Nobodies…though probably not of Organization level strength, but he could be mistaken, thus the 'disguises'. The place was surprisingly well defended with warriors such as Squall Leonhart, who called himself Leon now, Cloud Strife of course, Yuffie Kisaragi, who was infamous for tripping over her own feet, Cid Highwind and Tifa Lockheart. All of them would make excellent Nobodies to control, but a majority of them would never fall to the darkness…except for Cloud Strife. The blonde SOLDIER had a dark past that he couldn't let go of, Zexion could smell it…the darkness.

"Oooh…Looks like Zexy picked up the scent!" snickered Axel. Trix however seemed nonplussed by this all.

"Should I pay him a visit, or go for recon?" she asked. The girl had turned surprisingly professional the instant Zexion's expression had changed when he had picked up the scent.

"Locate his exact position and report back. His companions if there are any, their number. If he is alone commence a preliminary attack."

Trix nodded and immediately portaled out.

"You think she'll be okay? You never know, she might be as pathetic as Demyx when it comes to fighting…"

Zexion merely shrugged. Whether or not she could fight was not his problem. As long as she could find him, that would be all they really needed. Zexion assumed that the actual acquisition was up to him and Axel.

"Something's fishy about our little Trix…" said Axel, not really speaking to Zexion, he seemed to be confiding to a wall, mainly.

"She came fully aware of who and what she was…and if you're report is to be believed, the moment her Nobody was born she started fighting Heartless…Revenge maybe?"

Zexion appeared to be ignoring the red-headed Nobody, but in fact he was paying close attention. What Axel was saying was true. When he had located Tori Walker of Midgar's Nobody, the girl was facing overwhelming odds against the Heartless. Clearly the girl had already lost her heart, but her empty shell was still fighting with a will of its own.

He had made hypotheses about cases such as hers. A person who kept all of their emotions bottled up tight inside their heart, as soon as the heart was gone, perhaps a remnant of their feelings would remain inside their shell. Of course, he had no proof, so that report lay somewhere buried beneath mountains of paperwork in his room.

Maybe he should dig that one out some day…

8.8.8

Trix looked around warily. She had located that peculiar scent that Zexion had called darkness. Well, it wasn't really a scent that she was picking up. More like a feeling…she supposed it could be considered funny. She was relying on something she didn't have…it was almost pitiful, really. Turning a corner she bumped into a tall, darkly-clad blonde man with the most ridiculously spiky hair she had ever seen, next to Axel's.

"Sorry…" said the man, gently steadying her. He was about to try and leave when she grabbed his arm. This feeling…

"Can't you hear it?" she asked him, gripping his arm tightly.

"What?"

"Mother…Mother's calling…" she whispered softly. Something in the region where her heart used to be was burning. She couldn't say what though exactly. _This doesn't make sense…I'm not supposed to feel anything…_

"What did you say?" demanded the man, it was him holding her now. He looked at her more closely.

"You're a TURK…What are you doing here?" he growled, grabbing her by the shirt collar and pulling her up to look at him.

"Can't you hear it?" she asked him, suddenly twisting his hand, forcing him to drop her.

"Who the hell are you?" demanded the man she knew to be Cloud Strife.

"Nobody," she said, spinning a safe distance away from him, "I'd be more careful around them if I were you…" she said, suddenly grinning. Trix felt light-headed and a bit giddy…Well, she convinced herself that she was, and acted accordingly. Nobodies couldn't feel, but they could think, and thought could be very powerful.

"What are you talking about??"

"You wouldn't want them to get hurt because things just weren't…_fair_" she said smirking at him.

The look on that guy's face was priceless.

"Who _are_ you?"

She smiled at him again.

"Nobody, I'll be seein' ya!" she said, opening a portal beneath her feet, just as a kid about her age with spiky brown hair came running in.

"Hey! Cloud!"

The blonde mercenary completely ignored this obvious acquaintance of his to shout after her.

"Who are you?!? How do you know about Zack??!"

She just grinned and warped out to where Zexion and Axel were.

8.8.8

"Hey! Cloud!" shouted Sora, running towards the blonde man. Sora was ignored, as it seemed that the mercenary was demanding answers from a silver-haired teenager…NO…it couldn't be…

"RIKU???!!?" Just as he shouted towards the other teen, said teen disappeared into the floor.

"Cloud! Who was that just now? Was it Riku??" asked Sora excitedly. With that colour hair, it _had_ to be Riku.

Cloud shook his head.

"I don't know who that was…" then looking at Sora's expectant face, "It wasn't your friend. Riku is a boy, right? That was a girl."

"Oh…" said Sora crestfallen, then suddenly cheering up, "So, what did she talk to you about?"

Cloud turned and began to walk away.

"It doesn't concern you…" he said solemnly, as he began to head out towards the town outskirts.

"Hey Cloud…did it have something to do with Sephiroth?"

"I said it doesn't concern you…"

"Do you need help?"

"I _said it doesn't concern you!!!_" shouted the mercenary angrily, and then suddenly as if regretting losing his temper, he spoke again, but quietly.

"This is something I have to do on my own."

8.8.8

"So, did you find him?"

Trix gave Axel a baleful glare before making her report to Zexion.

"I managed to find him, but some kid with a Key on his back showed up, so I left."

So Sora was in this world presently…That might make things more difficult, but it was one of Zexion's plausible occurrences, and had already been taken into consideration.

Trix's personality had changed yet again. She was fidgeting almost as much as Demyx and she seemed to be twiddling her thumbs too. Zexion recognized this as the personality she adopted after something she thought weird had occurred.

"What happened?" he asked blandly.

Trix stopped twiddling her thumbs to look at him with her one visible eye. There was surprised in that green eye. She must have been really shocked by what had happened to actually show a type of genuine emotion.

"While locating Strife, I bumped into him…" she said, "And…I…felt something…"

"Oooohhh, did the hormones just kick in?" snickered Axel.

Zexion winced internally. This particular personality of Trix's was quite…Larxene-like. Instantly, the silver-haired girl whirled around to knee Axel in the stomach, hard. Which caused the red-head to hold his injured abdomen with his hands.

"Ow…that hurt…"

"It was supposed to," she growled angrily.

"What was this…'feeling'?" asked Zexion.

"It burned," she said laying a hand over the place where her heart should be. "Right here…"

"So what do you make of it?" he asked. This was interesting…

Suddenly something that he had never seen occur in any Nobody came flying out of the silver-haired girl. Pure, genuine anger.

"He doesn't deserve this!! He doesn't deserve to go through what we're going to do with him!! What we're about to do to Cloud is something that nobody deserves!!" she burst out, her green-eyes were alive with anger.

"We can't feel Trix, no matter what we do to him we won't be able to…" started Axel exasperatedly, though Zexion detected a slight degree of sympathy or intrigue in the red-head's voice.

"I don't _care_ whether or not I can feel regret or remorse over this! Nobody deserves to have their existence torn away from them like that! Nobody!!" she interrupted angrily, before suddenly portalling out.

Zexion took charge immediately.

"Axel, you stay here and monitor Strife. Keep an eye on the Keyblade Master as well. I'll go after her…"

"Flat out desertion on her first mission…that girl really is something…" said Axel shaking his head in amazement as Zexion left in pursuit of the girl.

* * *

**I hope the personality issue with Trix isn't that confusing...Essentially, she rotates personalities, whenever she 'feels' like it...This is why I love the idea of the Nobodies so much...Firstly, they technically don't exist, but they can kill you, like Tyki Mikk from D.Gray Man. Secondly, they can't feel but they fake that they can. Thirdly, in order to fake such feelings and such, that takes a lot of willpower...How I came up with the idea of Trix's rotating personalities was this:**

**Nobodies are the empty shells of a person, right? The only thing that is actually under their control is their thoughts and their memories. They don't make decisions based on emotion. So technically, they're controlled by their thoughts. **

**Trix is intelligent enough to understand this, and thus, since she is aware of this, she uses it to her own advantage, by consciously thinking through every action despite the fact that the actions might contrast or contradict with whatever she was doing earlier. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Awww...my first review says that Trix is a Mary Sue...  
Which I kind of disagree with, unless I seriously got Axel out of character...but he's sarcastic all the time, so yeah...And no one really likes her either. Zexion's the Cloaked Schemer, right? So everything he does is 'calculated'...except not everything can be accounted for, sooo some of it has to be dumb luck...On top of that, in the rest of the fifty something pages that I have written now, you can see just exactly how 'useful' she is...**

**Disclaimer:  
Trix: Hey! What do you mean by Mary Sue? I'm named after a cereal, not some loser with two names!!  
_ Okay, I think that's enough from you..._  
Trix: Thanks a lot for making my non-existent life hell!! What ever gave you the freakin' idea to give me such a weird name and personality??  
_ Uhhh...Personality modulation!_  
Trix: Hi! Bloodredalchemist, who has, by far, a worse name than mine, does not own the Kingdom Hearts series, nor the Final Fantasy series, nor any Disney characters. If she did, she would have a greater imagination to come up with a better name for me...  
**

* * *

She didn't go very far actually…she just went back to Headquarters. Thinking about it logically, there was nowhere else for her to go. She wouldn't go back to Midgar, not just because the place was overrun by Heartless, but because that was her Other's home. Trix wasn't very well acquainted with all the dark passages to other worlds, and neither did she know them. The one place she really knew was the World that Never Was… She did know Castle Oblivion, but the place had been abandoned since the plan to lure Sora in there had hopelessly failed. The boy had headed in the other direction at the fork in the road, of all things…Riku had inexplicably shown up in the basement, leaving the place in need of serious renovations… 

She was sitting at the top of a random building staring up at Kingdom Hearts with her green eyes. Zexion portalled in right behind her.

"Why did you leave?" he asked her calmly.

"Why did you follow?" was her reply.

He stared at her back, while she kept staring at the moon, neither of them breaking the silence. It was Trix who spoke first.

"I can't do this…" she said softly, still not looking at him. "Turning other people into Nobodies…it doesn't make sense to me…We're trying to get back our hearts by taking those of others away? I just don't get it…"

Zexion was mildly surprised. She had just voiced something that quite a few of the Organization's members had wondered about, himself being one of them. But now they were so close to their goal…ever since Sora had begun to attack the Heartless they grew closer and closer to getting everything back. But now he was getting suspicious…The boy surely would not just stop attacking the Heartless, but he would make it harder for them to manipulate him.

"I can't do this," she repeated again, "I just…I can't... I just can't let what happened to me happen to anyone else!!" she shouted frustrated.

It was then that he realized the key difference between the original six and those who had come after. He had given up his heart. It had been an experiment whose consequences had been beyond his imagination, but it had been a choice. The others had lost their hearts. They had had their existence brutally torn away from them and had been left to wallow in the twilight accepted neither by darkness nor light.

Trix seemed to be completely aware of this difference and due to her exceptional ability to recall practically everything of her past life; it made it hard for her. The memories of emotions were enough to drive her non-existent heart into confusion and turmoil. The Nobodies only had thoughts and memories, and Trix used both of them. She was intelligent, there was no denying that…but she was young, and weak. Her past memories kept integrating themselves with her thoughts, and she didn't like that. She wasn't Tori Walker…Trix didn't want to live with her memories. She was trying to drown them out of her conscious mind, completely unaware of the fact that she was the closest one out of the entire Organization to having a heart.

"Don't lose sight of our goal," he said in a voice he calculated to be a shade gentler than his usual tone.

It had the desired effect. Trix turned to look back at him, her eye questioning, before returning to gaze up at the heart-shaped moon in the sky.

"How do you even know that doing this will work?" she said, her gaze never leaving the golden moon.

"Xeha- The Superior believes that it will work, and I trust him."

Trix scoffed at that.

"You mean you _think_ you trust him…I don't think I could trust a guy with a name like that…"

"Explain."

She conjured up a few floating letters forming the word Xehanort.

"If you use the same method he used to make our names, this happens…" she said, waving her hand at the letters. The letter 'x' disappeared and the rest rearranged themselves to form two words:

No Heart

"I can't trust a guy like that…" she finished, waving her hand once again to make the words disappear. So she was a magic adept…that was good to know.

"It will work," said Zexion calmly, "But that's not our main concern."

Trix sighed loudly, before he continued.

"Obtain Cloud Strife's Nobody. That was the mission given to us, and we will complete it."

Trix nodded reluctantly.

"Yeah…but he still doesn't deserve it…That man has enough problems with Jenova as it is."

That had been the second time she had mentioned this Jenova…Zexion hated to admit it, but he was curious.

"Jenova?" he said questioningly, his tone implying for her to elaborate on this.

Trix stood up, brushing off her black pants, before speaking. She was clearly reciting this from memory.

"Thousands of years ago, a calamity from the skies came crashing into the Northern Sky Cavern. Professor Gast discovered the remnants of that calamity forty years ago. After much analysis and research, it was determined that the creature, called Jenova was an Ancient. Shin-Ra Electric's Science department determined that in order to solidify their hold on the world, that they would bestow the powers of the Ancients upon their army, creating the elite SOLDIER unit. Professor Hojo also used some TURK test subjects…as well as unorthodox methods that would result in his termination. One of his experiments, the Jenova Project resulted in the creation of Sephiroth…"

Zexion was surprised to hear the name. So the Cloud Strife's nemesis was from the same world as Tori Walker…

"As further extension to the Jenova Project, after the Nibelheim incident of seven years ago, the two Shin-Ra personnel who survived the burning, Zack Fair and Cloud Strife were subjected to intense Mako conditioning. Hojo was more interested in the Shin-Ra private than the First Class- Soldier, and over the next five years, conditioned Private Strife into a pseudo-Sephiroth clone. Five years later the two subjects escaped the laboratory. Fair was gunned down while protecting Strife, who due to his advanced case of Mako poisoning was left for dead. This resulted in the Meteor Crisis, and Sephiroth's death…" Trix opened her eyes.

"Tori Walker was a junior TURK trainee during the Meteor Crisis and the dissolution of the Shin-Ra company."

Zexion merely nodded, categorizing all of this information away in his head. This would be of extreme value. So Cloud Strife was not from Hollow Bastion…Personally Zexion doubted that a great many of those who called the place home were actually from there. It would be correct to hypothesize that Strife upon the Heartless invasion managed to escape through the passages of darkness. While strong enough to prevent the theft of his heart, the darkness must have gotten to him…and had probably revived Sephiroth…How, Zexion had no idea…

8.8.8

Cloud had no idea what was going on anymore…He was so confused. That girl…she had looked so familiar, yet he had no idea who she could possibly be. She had Mako eyes…Well, not like his. Those jade-green eyes…They reminded him of Sephiroth. Was she involved with Sephiroth somehow? No. Sephiroth was a lone wolf. He trusted no one with his plans, and always, always worked alone. Even when Cloud had been working with Zack, the two of them had to always scramble to figure out what on earth the General had been thinking. Despite the lack of communication amongst his subordinates, Sephiroth had been one of the greatest commanders of all time. The men looked up to him, and all of them would have died for him…until that day…Cloud shook his head. Now was not the time to be thinking about his past. He had to focus on the present. The here and now. He had to find out why that girl looked so freaking familiar. Silver hair and green eyes…The only person he could think of who fit that description was Sephiroth…Cloud smacked his head hard. All of his thoughts kept returning to Sephiroth, this wasn't good. He had seen that girl somewhere before…he just couldn't remember where. She had been wearing the TURK uniform…was she a TURK? No, she couldn't be. The only TURKS he knew were Reno, Rude, Tseng and Elena…and he had no idea what came of them when the Heartless came. He wondered if they had escaped. Anyway, the girl was way too young to be part of Shin-Ra's scouting squad…Or as he liked to think of them, the scum bags. He immediately regretted that thought. He actually kind of liked the TURKS, as people that is... He didn't like what they did, but they were really nice people, if a bit weird in the head, especially Reno. The red-head was really strong but there were times, when you seriously wondered whether or not he had a brain. Tseng was really a nice guy, from which Cloud knew first hand. The man had tried his hardest to have him and Zack captured alive, though he would have preferred for them to have been set free…But you couldn't have everything in life. If fate worked itself around what he wanted, he would be back home in Nibelheim, retired at the age of 23 from being a First-Class SOLDIER, with his best-friend Zack, his mom, and married to…

He paused on that train of thought. Him, married? Well, if life was ideal, he would be married, maybe even have a kid or two, but married to who?

His mom had always told him that an older girlfriend who could take care of him would be perfect, but he never really took her advice seriously. Aerith would fit that description perfectly, but…she…

…Aerith was Zack's girlfriend, or had been, until he died. Aerith didn't know that, and when Cloud had come crashing through the ceiling the same way Zack had, she had transferred some of that affection towards him. She had told him so herself, though at the end of their 'date', she said that she wanted to meet the 'real' him…He had never really gotten the chance to show her the real him…because Sephiroth…

Cloud didn't want to think about that, and returned his thoughts to the other possibilities as to his hypothetical wife.

Well, maybe he could have met some nice girl in Midgar, who didn't happen to be Aerith…but the chances of that seemed slim. Aerith had to be the nicest girl in all of Midgar…So he would probably turn his eyes somewhere closer to home…

Cloud was decidedly trying to keep his thoughts away from Tifa Lockheart and was failing miserably. Sure he had known her since he was a kid, and he had had a crush on her for the majority of his life, but he had grown out of it…Though she hadn't let go of her feelings for him. She seriously thought he was still that clueless little kid from their childhood. He could clearly see that she _liked_ him, and was utterly convinced that he reciprocated her feelings. Well, mainly because he honestly didn't know how he felt…Being here in Hollow Bastion…everything was so weird, he didn't know if he could handle it without falling apart…again. On top of all that Sephiroth…

_NO! I will NOT let that man dominate my thoughts…_thought Cloud ferociously. _I won't let him control me! Never again! Never!_

8.8.8

Axel was bored out of his mind. Zexion had been gone for…over thirty minutes, and now he was getting hungry. How hard could it be to track down that stupid little girl? _Ahhh…whatever…_ he thought, scratching his head. So…what were Zexion's orders again? Right…monitor the target, and keep an eye out for the Keyblade kid…Now Axel's thoughts were directed towards Roxas. He was the Keyblade kid in his eyes, always had been, and always would be…But Roxas had chosen Sora over the Organization…it was a choice that continued to baffle him. Maybe it was because Roxas did have a heart, if only half of one…Perhaps knowing that he was only half of something, he wanted to meet the other half. He had wanted answers that the Organization couldn't give him, but still, Axel couldn't wrap his head around why he'd just left…Looking around Axel suddenly realized something. While he had been wrapped up in his own thoughts, the target had disappeared. _Great, just great…_he growled. _Zexy is going to kill me…if he can actually fight that is…_

"HEY!! Who are you and what are you doing over there??!?!?"

Axel froze. _Even better…I've been spotted…_

He turned around to see the black-haired ninja girl, Yuffie Kisaragi. Axel drew a mental sigh of relief. The ninja, right! She was supposed to be a powerful fighter, but a bit on the stupid side. If it came to combat, Axel would lose, according to Zexion's estimates. The ninja girl was too fast for him, even if he warped around.

_Think! Think!_

"Uh…I'm a tourist!!" Axel blurted out.

_You can't be serious…there's no way they'll fall for that one…_

"WOAH!! A tourist! REALLY?" exclaimed the girl jumping up and down excitedly.

"Uh, YEAH!!" he said, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically, because the girl then grabbed him by the hand and began dragging him out of the alleyway.

"COOL!!! I should show you around Hollow Bastion then!!"

"No, that really isn't necessary…"

"WHOO-HOO!! I GOTS ME A TOURIST!!!" crowed Yuffie energetically, oblivious to Axel's confusion. _Oh god…what have I gotten myself into…_

_8.8.8_

Their return to Hollow Bastion was hardly something that could have been anticipated. Axel was no longer in the alleyway, and neither was their target.

"Ooooh. Did Mr. Hotshot get scared and run away?" snickered Trix. Great. Her personality had changed yet again…probably to hide her clear unease with the situation. Had Strife moved, or had something happened to Axel? In combat it was clear that Strife would win, if Axel wasn't warping around or anything. Or was Axel continuing to tail Strife? If it was the latter then upon their arrival, which Axel should have sensed, he would report back to them immediately. Since he hadn't, Zexion decided to search for him. He picked up instantly upon the scent of charcoal and heat that seemed to follow Axel everywhere, and began his tracking of the red-head through his smell. Number VIII was not alone…He was with another scent…Zexion was puzzled as to what this scent could possibly be, since it was rather elusive, and hard to put a name to, but he guessed it to be that of Yuffie Kisaragi. The other members of the Hollow Bastion restoration committee had their own peculiar scents, but the ninja's was the weirdest of them all. Something smelt like cheesecake...

"Axel is in the company of the ninja Yuffie. Judging by the girl's lack of intelligence, Axel is alive and well."

Trix nodded quietly. She had gone back to being quiet.

"We should attempt to retrieve him, and then report back to Headquarters. This mission will require more time, and more thought put into it."

"Yes, sir."

8.8.8

If he had a heart, Axel would have felt extreme relief when Zexion and Trix got him away from that stupid ninja girl. The teenager had insisted that she show him EVERYTHING. She didn't show him landmarks or anything, but things that _she_ thought was cool. Like weird holes in the wall, or the fact that the walls were blue and such. Axel had been trying to come up with some excuse to get away from the girl the moment Zexion had come back to this world, but that girl had to be deaf. He had managed to get away when Zexion distracted her with some illusions and Trix knocking the ninja out cold.

"What on earth were you doing Axel?" asked Zexion as they made their way back to Headquarters through the dark passageways.

"Getting the grand tour of Hollow Bastion, what else did it look like?" he answered sarcastically.

"What happened to the target?"

"He disappeared."

"You mean, you stopped paying attention and he left," quipped Trix cheekily. Axel eyed the girl irritably. After seeing her slug the ninja girl he had to admit that the new member was not as useless as Demyx…but her multiple shifting personalities could be really annoying…One moment she was as serious as Zexy, and the next she's more irritating that Xigbar and Demyx combined!

"Oh? This coming from the girl who spaces out every few seconds?"

"Number VIII, Trix. Stop it. I'm trying to think," said Zexion irritably. The Schemer never referred to anyone as their numbers unless he was really pissed…if he talked at all in the first place. Trix didn't have a number as of yet, or a special name either, due to all the controversy surrounding her joining the group. There were weird rumors going around that Trix might not even really be a Nobody, just something…different. She didn't have a heart, but she had a surprising amount of knowledge about her former self. Axel had overheard Vexen mention something about one of Zexion's discontinued research papers mentioning something about what she could possibly be. Knowing the Chilly Academic, the man was dying to get his hands on the girl and research her out of existence. Fortunately for Trix, the Superior saw her as a valuable asset, so she wasn't dead yet.

_Aahh, well at least this gives me time to kick back and relax a bit…_thought Axel as they warped into the Castle that Never Was.

"I'll make the report to the Superior," said Zexion. Axel restrained himself from rolling his eyes. Well duh! Who else was going to do that? Trix was hardly to be trusted with that task, seeing as she was being a cheeky little brat at the moment, and the Superior really had something against Axel. Maybe it had been that coffee prank…

Trix smiled goofily and nodded before warping out. The instant she was gone, Zexion spoke to Axel.

"What do you make of her?"

"Wha-?"

Zexion just looked at him. Axel didn't really know what to say. This was completely out of the blue.

"Well, she seems kind of weird for a Nobody…especially running off like that…I mean, we're not supposed to have feelings, but she just goes ahead and does that…Her memory is also kind of freaky, like me for instance. I remember practically nothing. Zip, nada! But here she can tell you her Other's entire life story…" Axel knew he was rambling, but Number VI didn't seem to really care about that. Once Axel fell into silence, the grey-haired Nobody simply nodded, and warped out. _Woah…Zexy's cooking up another scheme isn't he…I just hope I won't have to eat it. That last one tasted freaking nasty…_

* * *

**Okay, I know all of the Nobodies, except for Roxas do not have amnesia. But none of them except for the Original Six/ 3 which is what they're reduced to in Kingdom Hearts 2, actually make reference to their past lives...So possibly, all of the rest of them are in denial! **_  
_


	4. Chapter 4

**Bloodredalchemist (who is looking into alternate pen names) does not own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy or Disney. Otherwise she'd be filthy rich.**

**Sorry for putting Nightmare! on hold (if you happened to be a fan of that one) but I kind of wrote myself into a corner, which recently I've been rather disinclined to think about how to get out of it...and instead, completely on a whim, within a week, wrote 67 pages of this story...which has a title almost as bad as my pen name...**

**Well, for the two people who have alerts on this story at the present moment, here you go. I've got a lot more still not on this computer, but on the other one where my music is. If you didn't understand that, three words: Dial-up internet.  
**

* * *

"Hey!! You're back!!" exclaimed Demyx as Trix emerged from the library. Trix stared at the Melodious Nocturne quizzically. She and the other two had gotten back ages ago…She'd been in the library for three hours reading up on cardiology. It still bewildered her as to how the Nobodies 'existed' without a heart. Physically, they should have _something_ in there… 

"What's up?" she asked raising a hand in greeting. Demyx's expression froze. The blonde man had a confused grin on his face.

"What?" she asked, "did I say something?"

"N-no, it's just that…" he said, fumbling for the right words.

"I modulate between several different personalities, utilizing different facial expressions, mannerisms and postures. It helps keep the mind sharp, and readily adaptable to any situation…" she said, then looking at Demyx's even more confused expression, "I have extreme mood swings."

"Oh…"

"So, what did you want?"

"Well, uh, seeing as you've just finished your first mission…you saw another world, right?"  
Trix nodded, not really seeing where this was going.

"Which world?"

"Hollow Bastion."

Demyx made a face. Clearly he didn't particularly like that dreadfully gloomy place.

"Ugh…not a very fun place is it…"

Trix shrugged. She hadn't really done or seen anything there, seeing as she had had that little outburst and run off for thirty minutes.

"Hey! Since you've done your first mission, how about you and I have a little celebration? I'll show you some of the more exciting worlds!"

Trix looked at him. Was this guy for real? He belonged to possibly one of _the_ gloomiest organizations to exist in all the worlds, and he talked about _sight-seeing­_…

Trix shrugged.

"Sure, why not?"

"Whoo-hoo!!" crowed Demyx, rushing off to his room. "I'm gonna go change. You should too. Where we're going we'll have to blend in with the locals!"

Trix looked at her TURK uniform.

"Is there something wrong with this?" she asked. Demyx stared at her, a big smile still on his face. He walked back to her and began to push her towards his room.

"Okay, clearly you don't know what teenagers are supposed to dress like…" he said, still smiling and prattling on in his child-like manner. "Seriously, what kind of world did _you_ come from? I came from…ah, actually I don't remember, but…"

"Midgar wasn't a place you could have a childhood…" said Trix softly. Demyx stared at her his mouth open for a moment, before continuing on in his babblings.

"Oh yeah, you remember practically everything about your Other! That's kind of like Roxas, but his was just in bits and pieces."

Trix tuned out the rest of all of the Nocturne's chatter, and instead focused her thoughts and gaze at the three Organization members watching her from above.

8.8.8

"So you're saying that Tori Walker looked nothing like that…"

"According to her genetic coding, Tori Walker had black hair, and blue eyes, that were originally brown. There were also some strange cells that had integrated themselves into her DNA…"

"Trix mentioned something called the Jenova Project in Midgar…They infused the cells of some sort of being into their elite soldiers in order to emulate traits of some powerful race…"

"She remembered it?"

"She recited a general summary of the project's history and outcomes from memory. She also linked Cloud Strife to that Sephiroth who's been going around. Apparently they all come from the same world..."

"Midgar was overrun by the darkness recently though…"

"According to her, time flows differently in each world. The Heartless had been there for a few years…"

"So Cloud Strife made it through the darkness to reach Hollow Bastion?"

"Possibly."

"He must be quite powerful, this Cloud then…"

"Trix said that he is a Sephiroth clone of sorts, thus explaining the connection between the two. She also experienced a… 'feeling' when near Strife."

"What sort of feeling?"

"She said it felt like, kinship towards him…and that someone was calling her. She couldn't say who though…"

"Those genetic remnants within her body appear to resonate periodically…why I haven't a clue. Which is why I believe that further experimentation is…"

"No, Vexen. This girl is valuable."

"How so? None of us have seen her fight?"

Zexion coughed discreetly into his fist. Obviously Vexen hadn't seen her completely massacre Marluxia outside yesterday.

Admittedly Marluxia hadn't taken Trix's challenge seriously, but she had wiped the floor with him because of that. Zexion had just watched it happen from the shadows, and had mentioned it in passing to the Superior. As of yet, no one else knew about the fight. Marluxia clearly was not going to be talking about it, and Trix's personality database had yet to come up with a loud mouth braggart.

"It is irrelevant… Continue to discover just exactly what these cells are. Zexion, I want you to pull up that old research paper of yours."

Zexion looked mildly surprised. Which for him, meant his lip twitched.

"Yes sir."

8.8.8

Trix felt kind of odd, wearing what Demyx had shoved in her face. The shirt was bright blue with small silver stars patterned along the bottom left corner, fading up into the blue. The pants were kind of weird too. Demyx had called them 'jeans' and they too were also blue in colour, but a much darker blue.

"I guess that'll be fine…" he said, tossing her a black hoodie too. She put it on. Demyx was dressed in blue as well…It seemed that his entire wardrobe consisted of only two colours…blue and black.

"Okay! Let's go!" he exclaimed enthusiastically, opening a portal within his room, and dashing through it. Trix followed him slowly.

When they stepped out of the darkness, Trix had to shield her eyes from the intense orange glow that bathed everything around them.

"Welcome to Twilight Town!!" proclaimed Demyx proudly, waving his arm to take in everything. Trix was shocked. She had never seen so much orange in her life. Demyx grabbed her by the arm.

"Come on! Let's get ice cream!" he exclaimed, chattering away as he dragged her into the town. Trix noted a huge clock tower in the middle of the city.

"Oh. That's Twilight Town's Clock Tower…they're very proud of it…Axel and Roxas would always come here and sit up there…"

Trix was starting to wonder who on earth this Roxas was…She kept hearing his name pop up in conversations between the others, but usually they'd hush up when they noticed that she was there, or Axel. If she really wanted to know, she could always ask Demyx. If it wasn't something she was supposed to know, asking Demyx would mean she'd get the answer to. The Nocturne wasn't very bright, and always seemed to forget most of the important things…

Trix wasn't really paying attention when Demyx shoved something into her hand. It was blue…and cold, and smelled kind of funny.

"What is this?" she asked, looking at the bright blue object on a stick that he had just handed her.

"It's a sea-salt ice-cream!" said Demyx around bites of the substance, "haven't you ever had one before?"

"TURK'S don't get vacations…And I don't know if there was such a thing in Midgar…"

"Well?"

"What?"

"Come on! Taste it!!" implored Demyx, looking at her pleadingly. She had heard about this from Larxene. Demyx's infamous puppy-dog stare. It could almost make a person without a heart feel sad…and apparently worked wonders on those with one. Trix felt nothing really when he looked at her like that. But she might as well eat this thing anyway. She took a bite, and almost gagged. What the hell _was _this thing?!? It tasted almost as bad as Larxene's cooking, though there probably wasn't any road-kill in this. It was salty and sweet at the same time. Nauseatingly so…

"Oh…so you don't like it…" he said sadly, "Everyone else likes them…"

"Clearly they don't have intact taste-buds…" coughed Trix, trying to get rid of the foul taste.

Demyx laughed.

"Who'd have thought you were a picky eater, seeing as you ate all of Zexy's cooking…"

"What, is there something wrong with it?"

"Well, no…just that he's got weird taste, and no one really likes what he makes…especially that weird soup of his…"

"Better than Larxene's road-kill."

"Good point…" Demyx looked up at the clock tower.

"Hey, do you want to go up there?" he asked pointing at the spires.

"Not particularly, why?"

"It's kind of like an initiation thing. You're not a real member of the Organization until you've sat on that clock tower and eaten a sea-salt ice cream there."

"Do I have to?" she asked, eyeing her ice-cream which Demyx began to eat for her.

"Well, I guess it doesn't have to be sea-salt flavour…How about chocolate?"

"Chocolate?"

"Don't you know what chocolate is?"

"Do I _look_ like I know?"

"COME _ON_! Everyone knows what chocolate is!"

"Clearly, I'm not everyone…" then seeing Demyx's fallen expression.

"All right, I'll try it, if it'll make you happy…"

"HOORAY!!!"

8.8.8

_**Meanwhile in Hollow Bastion**_

Tifa was surprised when Cloud actually came back. He had been gone for the entire day, and for the past few weeks, he seemed to be avoiding her.

"So…" she started to ask, but upon seeing his face, decided better of it. Of course there would be no progress on Sephiroth…That man could disappear off the face of the Planet twice, and never be found…They didn't even know if he was _in_ this world in the first place…But it wasn't like Cloud could travel the worlds like Sora did, and knowing Cloud, he would be too shy to even ask if he could go along with the Keyblade Master…Then again, Sora probably didn't have time to go Sephiroth hunting.

Tifa just looked at Cloud sadly. There was nothing she could do to help him…He was falling into darkness so fast, that it seemed like her light couldn't keep up with him…Though in terms of physics that was impossible, but when hearts were involved, everything was possible.

"Hey…Tifa…" said Cloud so softly that she almost didn't hear it.

"…Y-Yes, Cloud?" she asked nervously.

"Do you think…Do you think there were other survivors?" he asked quietly. Tifa didn't know what to say. She had no idea how to answer that question, because she simply didn't know. Had anyone else survived the Invasion of Midgar? She really didn't know…Tifa _hoped_ that others had, but the probability was rather low…

"I…I…" she stammered, but Cloud stood up.

"It's okay…I know what you're thinking…" he said walking towards the door. "I'm sorry…" he said, reaching for the door knob.

"Cloud, wait!" exclaimed Tifa reaching out for him, when the door slammed open…

8.8.8

Sora, Donald and Goofy were walking aimlessly throughout Hollow Bastion in search of this strange girl that Cloud had seen. Since they were walking aimlessly, and really _weren't_ looking where they were going, they bumped into people.

"Oof…Sorr--" the Keyblade Master started to say, when he saw who he had bumped into. It was a tall man dressed in black with a long, tattered red cape. He had long black hair, a red-piece of cloth wrapped around his forehead, and really, really pale skin…His eyes were also red…

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!" shouted Sora and his party in horror.

"IT'S A VAMPIRE!!!!!!!" they yelled spinning around and running. Vampires were _not_ supposed to exist. Even in Halloween town, it was all just a bunch of costumes…but this guy was freaky! Everything about him, _spelled_ vampire. Sora didn't want to stick around long enough to find out about the fangs.

The black-haired girl in a blue dress behind the red-caped man peered after the trio surprised.

"You know…maybe you should ease up on the 'vampire' theme of yours Vincent…"

The dark-haired man didn't say anything.

"…"

"Oh, come on! I know you're listening to me. Would it kill you to stop being such an anti-social freak?!?" exclaimed the girl.

"…"

"Geez…You're just like Squall…Too scared of letting anyone close because you're afraid to be hurt…" she muttered.

"Rinoa."

"What?"

"…"

"Come on! You wanted to say something, so say it!"

"…You talk too much."

8.8.8

Needless, to say, Cloud was rather surprised when he got slammed forward by the force coming from Sora opening the door. With a groan, he pulled himself off of Tifa, whom he had fallen on top of.

"Sora…what's going on?"

The spiky-brown haired boy looked panicked.

"Cloud! There's a vampire in town!!"

"Ah…a what?"

"A vampire!"

"…right…"

"It's twoo!!" quacked Donald insistently, "A wreally, wreally pale mwan in blwack with a red cwape!"

Cloud was suddenly interested.

"Did you say a red cape?"

"Yeah…" said Sora.

"Did this guy have…black hair, red eyes, and a gold coloured armour that ends in claws…Carry a tri-barreled pistol with a keychain on it?"

"Y-Yeah…hey! How do you know that?"

Cloud pulled upon the door and walked outside.

"Because that's no vampire…it's Vincent Valentine…" he said stopping in front of the man himself.

"…"

"GAAH!!! HE FOLLOWED US!!" shouted Sora.

"Long time no see Vincent," said Cloud completely ignoring the younger boy.

"Wha-? You know him?"

Cloud glanced back at the fifteen year old boy.

"He's a friend, from back home…"

" 'back home'…Wait, you're not from Hollow Bastion?"

Vincent coughed discreetly at that.

"No," answered Cloud, "Most of us aren't…I'm from Midgar, same as Tifa, Yuffie and…" he paused there.

"And who?"

"…It doesn't matter…" he waved off the question, returning to speaking to Vincent.

"Well…it's been a while, hasn't it?"

"…two years…"

"What happened?"

Vincent looked Cloud straight in the eye.

"Midgar is no more…"

Tifa fell to her knees.

"Marlene…Denzel…"

"Everyone is safe. We managed to get out through a dark passage." Said Vincent emotionlessly, "I…left them across worlds…They could not stand the darkness. Marlene, Denzel and Barrett are all together in Atlantica…"

Woah…this guy must be tough, going through the darkness like that, and not losing himself either…

"What about the others?"

"Red XIII has taken up residence in some savannah area…Reeve…hmph…"

"What about him?"

"Who knows…he sent a Cait Sith with me…"

A familiar black and white stuffed cat stepped out from behind the cloaked man.

"HIYA!! Good ol' Reeve is still alive and well. I'm glad to see you guys are all okay!"

A hint of a smile appeared on Cloud's face.

"Good to see you too…"

"Hey! What's going on over here?" demanded Leon, walking down the street. "This is no time to be slacking off Tifa…"

"SQUALL!!!!" shrieked a female voice and a blue blur streaked past Sora, bulling straight into Leon.

The brown-haired man's reaction was an interesting one, with one arm hugging the blue-clad woman, and the other ready at his Gunblade…

"Squall? Who's that?" echoed Sora.

"Leon's name is Squall? What?"

Oblivious to the rest of the world, Squall/Leon was lost in shock. Finally pulling his hand away from his Gunblade, he drew the black-haired girl into a tight hug.

"Rinoa…"

"Why didn't you wait for me?" she sobbed into his shoulder, "We promised that we'd be there for each other, no matter what…I waited, and waited for you, but you never came…"

"Shhh…it's all okay now…How did you get here?"

"Vincent picked me up in Atlantica…I was singing in a musical…Just like mom…well, not that she sung in musicals, but I sung…"

"Wow…I wish I could've been there…"

Suddenly Rinoa stepped on his foot. Hard.

"OWW! What was that for?!?!"

"You insensitive jerk! Do you have any idea how worried I was?!?! I thought you were dead!! Couldn't you have the decency to give me a phone call or write me a letter, or…or SOMETHING?!?!"

Leon, or Squall as was his real name, looked at the love of his life incredulously. Yep. This was Rinoa…the same old, irrational, unstable, beautiful Rinoa.

Luckily Vincent came to his rescue much to everyone's surprise.

"Rinoa…think about what you've just said…"  
Tifa looked at Cloud incredulously, completely missing the look on his face.

Vincent…had just spoken in situation in which he wasn't forced to…Whoa…

* * *

**It makes me mad that for KH 1 that they merged Cloud's outfit with Vincent's, instead of just having Mr. Valentine there in all his emo glory...They should have just popped him in Halloween town as a vampire with serious issues...and well...Squall has to have Rinoa around, to make his life difficult. Anyway, someone has to be there to criticize him for being cold, anti-social, and all the problems he has!  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**By far, in my opinion, probably the worst part I've written so far in terms of bridging and filler... The entire point of Trix existing in this story is: **

**1. So that Organization XIII can keep their name, and to boot out Roxas who has already merged. **

**2. Because I need someone for the other members to talk to instead of themselves and **

**3. I want to bring Midgar and Jenova and the lot of FF7 into the story somehow, and Nobodies and Remnants(hint. Three guys with silver hair, who could they be?) kind of fit the bill. GEOSTIGMA ALL THE WAY!!!  
**

* * *

"Sooo Trix, how was your date with Demy?" asked Marluxia leaning against the wall, grinning. 

Trix didn't answer as she put away the clothes Demyx had given her. 'If ever she wanted to check out another world again'. Trix doubted that she would go sight-seeing again, but it was a better disguise than the TURK uniform she had. Closing her closet, she turned to face the Graceful Assassin.

"Are you asking for a rematch or not? If you're not, get out of my face," she said, pushing past him.

"Oooooooohh!! Touchy!!" giggled Larxene, suddenly appearing beside Marluxia, "Was it really that bad?"

Larxene was kind of irritated at the younger girl. The Organization finally got a new female member, and it was a pre-pubescent one with identity issues…Well, Trix had clearly already gone through puberty, but she didn't really look like she had. The girl was ridiculously slim, and really didn't have that much chest…and kind of looked like a really girly boy…But the main point was, the only other female member in the Organization was a person she could hate. The girl's rotating personality problem was annoying. You never really knew who you were talking to, and that was what really pissed Larxene off.

"What, did Number VI ruin it?" she mocked. By now it was common knowledge that Demyx had taken Trix 'sight-seeing' as he put it, and that Zexion had warped out to bring them back since Trix was now grounded for that twenty minute desertion of hers.

"Why are you two following me?" was all Trix asked.

"Come on! Answer the question!!"

"No."

"She's just embarrassed…" said Larxene in a loud whisper to Marluxia.

"Idiot. We're Nobodies, we can't _feel_ anything. And if you're quite done, I have to read up on… Mother…" she growled, shoving past the two, who stared after her in shock.

"Did she just say mother?"

"Yeah she did…"

"Trix has a mother?"

"She's probably butt-ugly, like her kid…"

The points of two very sharp knives pressed into the backs of both Nobodies.

"Don't insult Mother…We won't forgive you…"

"…We?" quipped Marluxia, before suddenly realizing the situation he was in.

"The real Reunion is going to happen…" suddenly the points disappeared, and they turned around to see Trix clutching her head.

"Shut up…" she whispered.

"Umm…" this was really weird. It was _random_ and really, _really_ out of place. They had never seen anything like this happen before in a Nobody…

"Shut up…Shut up…" the girl was repeating over and over, before suddenly whirling around and punching a wall.

"DAMN YOU HOJO!!!" she screamed loudly, before suddenly turning and continued walking down the hallway as if nothing had happened, Marluxia and Larxene staring until she was gone.

"Whoa…talk about mood swings…" said Axel, suddenly appearing behind the two.

"Axel! What are you doing here?"

"Nothing much, what are you two doing _here_?" he asked them, grinning hugely.

"Nothing."

"Didn't look like 'nothing'"

"You were spying again…"

"Hey!" said Axel putting a hand over where his heart was supposed to be. "That's my job!"

"Oh…go drown yourself…" growled Larxene

"Well, actually I'm here to tell you that you're to relocate to Castle Oblivion..."

"Why?"

"Dunno, the Superior's orders…" smirked Axel. "Number VI isn't happy that you've been picking on his new pet…"

"What? The girl's freaking useless! All she's good for is getting _one_ measly little Nobody!" exclaimed Larxene. When immediate assent did not arise from Marluxia behind her, Larxene grew suspicious.

"Don't tell me…" she said, eyeing the pink-haired man warily.

Axel burst out laughing.

"OHHHH! That's rich! Flower-boy got hisself beat by Cereal-girl!!!" he roared with laughter. "I've _got_ to tell Xiggy about this…" he said, warping out before Marluxia could even say anything.

Larxene stared at Marluxia, who seemed to be overly absorbed in one of the roses he was holding.

"Please tell me this is all a joke…"

8.8.8

Xemnas, Saix, Vexen and Zexion watched from a separate room what had happened in the hallway.

"Fascinating…just fascinating…" murmured Vexen to himself.

"Her Other memory is resonating more strongly?" said Saix.

"No. Not her memories, well they _are_ memories…"

"Get to the point," growled the Luna Diviner. Even though he was of a lower rank in the Organization, the berserker was allowed to listen in on all these conversations. Though the man was never really known for his patience…

"The foreign cells in her body have integrated themselves into several regions of her brain. They are parasitic in nature and act independently from her will…So it's not her remembering things…"

"This Jenova she speaks about is doing the remembering for her…I take it the cells have infected the regions of the brain concerning memory…" said Zexion, phrasing it like a question.

"Yes…Ah…I have a question though, Superior…" said Vexen rather nervously.

"What?"

"What did Axel mean by, 'Cereal-girl'? I am aware that Axel does have a habit of making up nick-names for all of the Organization members, but this one…confounds me."

Saix turned to walk away. He had been the ones to first find out about that piece of information.

"In another world…there is a children's cereal called Trix. The main slogan concerns a white rabbit…"

"Wonderland?"

"Possibly…Axel discovered this recently, and hasn't stopped using the name since…"

8.8.8

That evening the entire castle down to the last Dusk knew how Marluxia had gotten beat up by the new girl. Larxene didn't know whether or not she should be shouting 'girl power' or furious. A part of her wanted to support the only other female member of the Organization, but her present hatred for the girl was overriding. Marluxia claimed that the girl's fighting style was unorthodox, but then again most of the Organization's fighting styles were unusual, like Demyx…if that could really count as fighting.

As everyone was sitting down to eat, the main discussion was a humorous one, of which Marluxia was the object of ridicule. Axel and Xigbar had made up some sort of story about how the Graceful Assassin had been beaten, and were telling it quite enthusiastically to Demyx, who clearly believed every word of it.

"Explosions three miles high!!" were in common use at that end of the table.

Surprisingly enough, no one seemed to ask Trix about it at all, since she seemed to be in a more solemn personality. She just sat there and ate the weird soup that Number V had cooked that night. Larxene didn't really mind the soup, she was just glad that it hadn't been Vexen or Zexion who had been cooking. Each time one of the two intellectuals made something, people started acting weirdly. Larxene was convinced that the two tampered with the food, refusing to believe that it really was that bad.

_No one can cook __**that**__ terribly_, she thought, _especially not if they mix potions on a regular basis…_

"Hey, Trix…what is your weapon anyway?" asked Xigbar across the room towards the silver-haired girl. The room grew silent as the teenager drained her bowl.

"…I'm not telling…" she said after a long silence, refilling her bowl.

Axel nudged Xigbar and winked.

"Oh, so it really is your…"

Unfortunately for Axel it was at this moment that Trix's weird mood swings occurred, and _something_ went hurtling towards the red-head at a terrifying speed.

Surprising everyone it was a water clone that blocked the black substance.

A soaked Demyx looked up grinning foolishly.

"Trix's mood-swings are like harmony…it's like, instead of going to one, she goes to flat seven …"

Clearly it was intended as some sort of joke, but no one really got it…except for Zexion, who snorted into his soup. Everyone, except for the Superior of course, turned to stare at the Cloaked Schemer. Did that guy just…kind of…_laugh_? Zexion, _laugh_?

"Trix…the deliberate attack on any of your fellow Organization members is unacceptable. If it is repeated you_ will _be turned into a Dusk, do you understand?" said the Superior sternly.

"It doesn't matter…Reunion will happen nonetheless…" Trix murmured half to them, half to herself, "Then we'll all go back to Mother's place…"

Zexion looked towards Vexen knowingly. Clearly this Jenova substance was greatly affecting Trix's brain. Fascinating, really…So a Nobody could inherit such a thing from their Somebody…it wasn't just Trix, Roxas too went under this category. Number XIII, the Key of Destiny had inherited the ability to use the Keyblade from Sora, just as Trix had inherited these Jenova cells. Roxas clearly got the better deal.

"Trix…what is this, 'Reunion'?"

Trix was still in a dazed state of sorts. Her eyes were unfocused and clouded.

"Everyone infused with Mother's cells will gather and…and then Mother will take charge of everything…" she murmured softly, and then she started screaming.

The silver-haired girl crashed to the floor, screaming as if she was dying.

"GRAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" she yelled, clutching her head. "GO AWAYYY!! DISAPPEAR!!!"

And then, just like earlier, she was calm again.

She pointed at Axel.

"Just so you know, if you want to pick a fight with me, you'll lose," she said coldly before warping out of the kitchen.

The hall was filled with an awkward silence. Unsurprisingly, it was Demyx who broke the silence.

"Welll….I'd call that a flat seven six-four of seven if anything…"

8.8.8

Sora had never been so confused before in all of his life. Well, okay, not really…the first time he had gotten the Keyblade had been _pretty _weird. But all of a sudden there were all these new people in Hollow Bastion, and they all knew each other, somehow… Also, Sora still hadn't really gotten over the Vincent not being a vampire thing…especially after hearing from Tifa, on the side that Valentine had been sleeping inside a coffin in the basement of an abandoned mansion for thirty years…Yeah, that definitely hadn't helped his impression of the man. On top of all that, from what Sora understood, Vincent used the same passageways the Heartless used to travel…He was a tough guy...

No, the weirder thing was this girl Rinoa…she clearly liked Leon, Squall. He corrected himself. Ever since the black-haired girl had shown up, the brown-haired man no longer seemed to respond to 'Leon'. Rinoa and L-Squall were obviously in some sort of relationship, though Sora didn't really see how. Rinoa was a fun-loving, extroverted girl, whereas Squall was…anti-social.

Well, anyway, Vincent said that he had been following a group of silver-haired people in black. Cloud had shown immediate interest, and Sora had just been thrown into even more and more confusion.

"These people are…?"

"Sephiroth's Remnants…the strongest ones by far that you've seen…"

Cloud nodded.

"The older ones couldn't barely stand on their own…but these three…" he murmured to himself, "What do they call themselves?"

"Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz."

Sora took that moment to comment.

"Those are pretty weird names…" Cloud turned to look at Sora, with a hard-to-read expression. Sora wasn't sure whether it was incredulity or annoyance. Vincent merely ignored him.

"I lost track of them after passing that sandy country…."

"Agrabah?" asked Sora, but was still flat-out ignored. Geez…this guy was unbelievable…

"So…Vincent, was it?" asked Squall, setting down a tray of Rinoa's 'specially' mixed drinks in front of them. Ever since Rinoa had shown up, Squall had started to warm up to other people, even if just a little bit…The red-eyed man shifted his gaze towards the Gunblade specialist.

"Why are you hunting these Remnants?"

Vincent turned to the cups in front of him, carefully selecting one.

"I wish to put an end to the Jenova project…"

"Jenova project?" echoed Sora and Squall simultaneously.

Vincent drained his cup and looked up at Cloud.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

The two men just stared at each other in silence. Squall was tapping his foot impatiently, and Sora was looking between the two men, waiting for an explanation.

It was Vincent who spoke first.

"…You didn't tell them…"

"I didn't tell anyone…" answered the blonde looking away.

The red-caped man was clearly about to ask why, when a brown-haired girl with a pink ribbon and a pink dress walked into the room carrying a tray of freshly baked cookies.

"I made some cookies! Want some?" gushed Aerith joyfully. Sora immediately stood up to take a few.

"Sure! Thanks Aerith!"

Vincent looked from the green-eyed girl to the blonde mercenary who was pointedly avoiding his gaze.

"…I see…" he said, drawing himself up and heading towards the door without a word.

"Hey! Mr. Valentine, won't you have a cookie?" asked Aerith smiling. Sora was surprised when Vincent stopped walking and actually turned around to look at the girl with…was that the barest hint of a smile? His blood-red eyes didn't seem as harsh as usual, and they were more readable…Was he looking at her with…sorrow?

"…No…" he said spinning back towards the door. "…Thanks…" he said before disappearing out into the city.

* * *

**Okay, so the three silver-haired men were not: Xemnas, Riku and Sephiroth, but Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz, who will be making a much later appearance in this, soon to be much longer than 75 page story...Though you have to admit, Riku does look like he could be a Remnant. Silver hair, green eyes...He fits the bill, right?**


	6. Chapter 6

**So this chapter is...ridiculously long. I didn't write in a break point for it really until the umm...maybe the 3000 mark, and the last line of that one wasn't much of an ending sooo...Yeah...**

**I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy or Disney. I am not making any money off of this, as much as I wish fanfiction writers could.  
**

* * *

"Clearly the situation with Trix has gotten worse."

"That episode in the kitchen wasn't enough for you? That stunt completely eclipses Saix's last rage…" muttered Vexen.

"My point is we cannot allow this to continue. That spell she cast caused some major damage. Demyx is still recovering…"

"Number IX is a pathetically weak fool…but that Ultima spell _was_ impressive…" retorted Vexen. He was impressed actually. They'd all assumed she was more of the close combat type.

"That would make her a speed-based fighter, with a slight aptitude for magic…" noted Zexion aloud, speaking for the first time this entire meeting.

"True…"

"Zexion, Vexen," said the Superior thoughtfully.

"Yes sir?"

"I want you to find a way to suppress these Jenova cells of hers. This creature's power needs to be kept under control."

"As you say so."

"Do you have any suggestions as how to do that?" asked Vexen, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "Those cells have integrated themselves deeply throughout her entire body. Isolating and containing each and every one of those cells is no mean feat."

"For now, I will settle for a blanket suppression of her powers. But I want it done. Do you understand that?"

"Yes sir."

8.8.8

Trix's latest episode had created a rift between her and Numbers VIII, XI and XII. Axel was understandable, she had meant to kill him, and very well could have seeing as he had been caught completely off-guard. Marluxia still hated her for beating him, and Larxene…well, who knew why she hated the girl. Demyx fiddled around with some of the buttons on his newest little toy. He had picked it up in Twilight Town the other day, and he was dying to try it out, _somewhere_…If only he could figure out how to turn it on…

"Whatcha doin' Demy?" asked Xigbar, looming over his shoulder. Demyx gave a sharp squeak of surprise. Having the Freeshooter standing behind you was not very…safe…

"I-I'm trying to turn this thing on…"

"What is it?"

"Ummm…"

Trix came out of her room, and took one look at Demyx holding his latest contraption.

"Hey…a video camera…"

Demyx's face lit up. She knew what it was…maybe she knew how to work the damn thing…

"Trix, do you know how to turn this thing on?"

The silver-haired girl came over, brushing a few strands of hair off to the side from her face.

"Yeah, sure I do, pass it here…" she said, taking it from the Melodious Nocturne's hands.

"D-Don't break it!!" he exclaimed, watching as she turned it around in a circle.

"Geez Dem, It's not like I'm throwing it in Marluxia's face or something…" she said with mock exasperation.

He had picked a good time to ask her a question. Judging from her attitude right now, she was still in a major key, and was nowhere near a plausible cadence into the relative minor…But then again, if she had another one of her little episodes, Demyx would have to call this piece contemporary. He had made it his newest hobby to keep a sort of mental track of Trix's mood-swings and associating them with chords. The subsequent chord progressions made _really_ good music, except for the odd flat-seven-six-four sequences.

"Here." she said passing the camera back to him, and then taking it right back to show him the correct way to hold it.

"You can open up this little window here to see what you're recording," she told him, flipping the camera's little screen out to show him his own face.

"COOL!!" he exclaimed pointing the camera at Xigbar, who was watching amusedly.

"Look Xiggy! You're on camera!!"

The Freeshooter shook his head with a chuckle.

"Demyx, you really make it hard for me to believe that you're actually _older_ than Zexion…"

The Nocturne however was oblivious to this remark, as he found the new joy of video-taping people.

"I'm gonna go around and tape EVERYONE!!"

Trix looked at him incredulous.

"Are you _sure_ you want to go waving that thing in Saix's face?"

Demyx paled slightly. The Luna Diviner usually didn't take kindly to any of Demyx's ideas…

"Okay then, ALMOST EVERYONE!" he said, a silly grin forming on his face, before running off.

8.8.8

Zexion looked up from his work quite suddenly, causing Vexen to wonder what was going on.

"What is it Number VI?"

The Cloaked Schemer shook his head.

"Nothing…" he said, returning back to his papers.

This Jenova was…unique. It wasn't darkness, and it wasn't light…Zexion wondered what the creature these cells had come from looked like. From Trix's designation of the being as 'Mother', it was probably safe to assume that it was female in nature…The thing's ability to integrate itself into the DNA was also fascinating. Its effects upon the body were outstanding. Trix's original coding was for black hair, and dark-eyes. The Jenova cells had overridden those designs and instead of those traits, the creature had created them differently.

While he was noting all of this information, he failed to notice Demyx creeping up behind him.

"HEY ZEXY!!"

The Cloaked Schemer almost jumped out of his skin, but instead…he twitched.

"Zexy…come on…look at me!!" whined Demyx. Repressing a sigh, Zexion turned around in his seat to come face to face with a camera.

"Yeah!! That makes three!"

"…Demyx…what are you doing?"

The green-eyed blonde completely ignored him and began talking to his camera.

"See? This is Zexy…on" he added hastily, seeing the narrowing of the one visible eye on the Cloaked Schemer.

"He's Number VI in the Organization: The Cloaked Schemer…" he told the camera seriously. "Zexy was one of the first six, and was an apprentice of Ansem the Wise…Cool huh? Yeah. His Somebody's name was…" Demyx suddenly stopped his monologue to the camera to look at the grey-haired man.

"Hey, Zexy, what was your Other's name?"

"…"

"Come on! It's for the documentary!!" pleaded Demyx. Zexion turned back to his work.

"…"

"Zexyyy!!! PLEASE???"

Zexion finally became aware of just how _annoying_ the Melodious Nocturne could be. At this rate, he'd never get a moment's peace to finishing this work.

Turning around irritably, he muttered his other's name.

"Sorry, I don't think I got that…"

"…Ienzo…"

Demyx turned back to his camera.

"There we go! So Zexy's other name was Ienzo…and he fights with a book…"

"Number IX, please vacate this area, we're trying to do work here…"

"But I haven't even gotten to Vexy yet…"

"_Must_ you insist on belittling everyone's name?" growled Vexen, finally coming over. The noise Demyx had been making had gotten to him.

Immediately, Demyx turned the camera on the Chilly Academic.

"And this here is Number IV: Vexen, the Chilly Academic…He's not very nice as you can see, so that's why he never gets any respect from any of us. Like, even Zexy here doesn't always treat him like a superior…"

"DEMYX!!!!"

8.8.8

Trix was sitting with Xigbar in the library reading a book, and listening to the Freeshooter rattle off on tales of his past exploits. Trix wasn't really listening to them, but she kind of enjoyed Number II's company. Unlike the others, he was laid back, not Axel-laid back to the point of couch-potatoeness, nor like Demyx either though, who took nothing seriously. The Freeshooter had an element of nonchalance that Trix found enjoyable, even if she was just being talked at.

"You know, as one of the oldest, seeing you young 'uns is kind of depressing…Well, not really, but if I think about it, I suppose I would find it depressing. Like, look at what Ienzo turned into…"

"Ienzo?" she echoed. She had never heard that name before.

"Oh, sorry, Zexion. Yeah, he was Ansem the Wise's youngest apprentice…he was a cute kid, sure, he spent all his time reading books…reading books by the way, is _so_ not healthy. Ruins your eyes, you see…"  
_So that's how you lost your eye?_ She thought dryly, glancing up at the eye-patched man. Xigbar seemed to have almost heard that thought.

"Yeah, laugh all you want. I bet Axel will love to hear that one. No I lost it fighting Xaldin when we were kids. Just so you know, _never_ snap one of his spears in his face…Well anyway, I was talking about little Zexy. Sure his Other really didn't know how to have fun, and was so wrapped up in all of his little reports and studies…maybe it was _because _ he was the youngest that he was like that, I dunno. But the only guy he seems to get along with is Lexaeus…and you can imagine the conversation between those two," he said grinning pointedly.

Trix nodded in agreement, still not letting her eyes leave the page she was reading. Parasites were fascinating…but none of them were as complex as Jenova was…not even the Darkness.

Suddenly Demyx burst into the room, holding his video-camera out to Trix.

"Trixxxx!! I don't know what's wrong with it!! It just turned off all of a sudden when I was taping Larxene…"

Oh…that explained the cuts and bruising…

Trix took the camera from the Melodious Nocturne and did a quick inspection.

"Well, she didn't damage it at all…"

"That's because I said I caught Saix swigging beer…"

"Was he?"

"No…I didn't get him on tape…"

Trix nodded. Demyx may not be all too bright, but at least he had _some_ degree of common sense.

Trix pressed a few buttons.

"Demyx…it's out of batteries…"

"WHAT?!?!" he wailed horrified, "It has batteries?!?!"

Trix thrust a hand out to the side and warped in a box of the metal cylinders to the coffee table in front of the couch she was sitting on.

"Relax…" she said, opening up the camera, and replacing the batteries. Xigbar came around to get a better view.

"All right, let's see what you've got…" said Trix, going to playback.

The 'documentary' started off with Trix first turning the camera on, and Demyx's little declaration, and then progressed to his first interview. Demyx had snuck up on Zexion, surprisingly, but the grey-haired Nobody, to his credit, only twitched when he realized this. Xigbar chuckled when he saw Zexion's clear irritation and reluctance to disclose his Other's name.

"Still, sooo touchy…" he laughed.

It then went on to Vexen, and Demyx having a few Blizzards and Blizzara's shot at him. The Nocturne was actually quite good at running away from things…Then Number IX went to Axel, who mainly laughed amiably at Demyx's antics. He still answered the Nocturne's questions, except for the one about his Other's name.

"Come _on_ Axel!!"

"No. I said no Dem. Don't you know that no means _no_? Why don't you go talk to Luxord?"

"But he's in Port Royal…"

"Fine, then Larxene!"

"Hey, good idea! Thanks!"

Trix looked at Demyx incredulously.

"You actually _fell_ for that one?"

"Fell for what?"

Trix rolled her eyes.

"Never mind…" she answered continuing to watch the documentary. Demyx, on his way to Larxene's room, poked his head inside the Superior's office, and caught the man for a few seconds, before quickly retreating, sending the camera at funny angles. It soon became clear the reason for Demyx's running. Saix was coming down the hall and Demyx scarpered. While trying to find Larxene, Demyx passed Lexaeus, Xaldin and almost every other Organization member, except for the Savage Nymph.

Eventually, after many mishaps, and even more misfortune, Demyx finally found Larxene…who clearly did not like his commentary.

"Yeah, Larxene is, I mean was, the only female member of the Organization. Now there's Trix, who I find, personally to be a much better person than Larxy here…"

Both Xigbar and Trix winced as Demyx got pounded by the blonde woman for saying that.

"What on earth possessed you to say _that_?" asked Xigbar incredulously.

"I told the _truth_!" said Demyx, rubbing his swollen jaw.

"Dem…you know Number XII. Vicious and cruel, where on earth did you think she got the name 'Savage' from?"

Trix just looked at the blonde musician calmly.

"Here…" she said, waving a hand at him, and a soft green light enveloped the Melodious Nocturne, healing all of his injuries.

"Next time you do something stupid, think about it, and find out whether or not you're going to get yourself killed for it? 'kay?" she said as if to a small child.

Demyx nodded just like a little kid.

"So, you've gotten everyone in the castle on camera, huh…"

Demyx shook his head.

"Nope, just one more to go! I guess I'll go visit Naminé…"

"Naminé?"

"Oh yeah! You've never met the White Witch before…Naminé's a Nobody like us…sort of…"

"Get to the point."

"Well, she's a girl, maybe a bit younger than you…She can't fight, so in a way she's pretty useless…"

_And __you__ aren't? You fight with a musical instrument…_

"Naminé, is a Princess's Nobody," said Demyx.

"And that is significant, _how_?" asked Trix with mock sarcasm.

"More precisely, she's the Nobody of a Princess of Heart…" interjected Xigbar.

Trix looked surprised. She'd heard of these 'Princesses of Heart'. Seven hearts which contained no darkness in them at all, though after hearing some stories about these 'princesses' she highly doubted that statement.

_No darkness my foot…No one can go through life without having dark thoughts…If someone claims to, they're a liar…_

"Hey! We should go visit her together!" said Demyx excitedly, "You've never seen her before, and she hasn't met you yet either. You should meet her so it isn't a shock when you get guard duty…"

"Guard duty?"

Xigbar explained, for which Trix was grateful. The way Demyx was speaking about all of this sounded like it was just a picnic…

"Naminé has never seen the outside worlds, aside from Castle Oblivion, which as you know, isn't really much. Think of it like babysitting. We have to make sure she doesn't try to run away and do something stupid…Don't be fooled by her looks. She may look like sweetness and light, but she's a devious little girl. She can _seriously_ mess with your head," he said with a casual glance towards Demyx who was now intently recording the entire explanation.

"So that," he told the camera, "Is the main impression of Naminé by Xiggy. An opinion shared by most of the Organization. I really don't mind her, she says she likes listening to my music. It helps her concentrate when she's drawing…"

Trix looked at Demyx with a mixed expression. There were times, when she seriously considered throttling the blonde musician, and yet there was something about him that made her non-existent heart twinge with another's memories. She wasn't sure if it was his goofiness, or his extreme naivety…there was something…something so…familiar about his behaviour that made her chest hurt thinking about it.

"So, do you want to go?"

Trix nodded absent-mindedly. The Jenova inside her was acting up again…She was learning slowly how to suppress it…Before…Tori Walker never had to deal with this pain…Zexion was wrong about Tori Walker. The TURK trainee had been an overly enthusiastic, hyper-active and incredibly naïve girl. She had held on to hope right until the moment she'd gotten her heart ripped out of her.

"Alright!" exclaimed Demyx, "You wanna come too Xiggy?"

Xigbar shook his head.

"I, unlike you, intend to finish all of my work…"

Demyx pouted.

"Come on! Xemnas said we could have the day off…"

"He said _you_ could take the day off, since the Keyblade Master wasn't in your assigned worlds…Listen carefully to the man for once!"

8.8.8

Squall looked across the table towards the red-caped man leaning back against his chair. This Vincent Valentine was a strange one. Stranger than a talking duck and dog…Okay, maybe not _that_ strange, but the man hardly spoke and showed little to no emotion.

All of them were waiting for some sort of news from Sora who had gone off in his Gummi ship to check up on the other worlds. Why Vincent hadn't gone by himself was a mystery to Squall. The man could apparently travel dimensions like a Heartless or Nobody, but he seemed reluctant to do it. Rinoa wasn't talking about it, despite how much Squall pressed her about it. Speaking of Rinoa…

"SQUALLL!!!" he heard her call from outside the door, "I'm coming in!!!"

As she stepped into the dimly lit room, she had to comment as usual.

"Seriously, are you guys trying to turn this place into a cult house?" she said, turning up the lights.

"Don't," said Vincent, looking away from the light.

"What?" said Rinoa surprised. Vincent had actually just spoken…

"…"

"Don't what? Come on, say it!"

"…it hurts my eyes…"

"That's it? What are you talking about? How does the light hurt your eyes?"

Vincent closed his eyes and lowered his head.

"…"

"What now? Whenever you do that you're not saying something!"

_Rinoa…why do you have to know everyone's problems??_

"…You're too loud…"

"WHAT?"

"…My ears hurt…" sighed Vincent softly.

Rinoa looked from Vincent to Squall.

"Squall…"

The Gunblade specialist looked up at her. She was looking at him with that happy light in her eyes…this couldn't be good. She spread out her arms expectantly.

He just looked at her.

She was starting to get impatient, as she was now bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet.

"What?" he asked.

"Give me a hug."

_You can't be serious…_

"Vincent's being mean, so give me a hug…"

"What?! Why?"  
Rinoa pouted childishly.

"I need a hug to feel better, what else?"

_Why do __I__ have to give you a hug?_ He wondered. Slowly getting up from his chair, he complied, giving her a tight squeeze, and the promptly sitting back down.

"Awww…Come on Squall, I know you can do better than that…Give me another hug!!"

Just then a bunch of people came into the room.

"What? Leon hugging people? What?" exclaimed Yuffie practically bursting with energy.

"His name's not Leon, it's Squall." Said Rinoa miffed. Why, Squall had no idea…

"Well, _I _know that!" huffed Yuffie defensively, "When we first met him, he was so prickly about being called Squall. Saying things like that name had been shamed, so now he was just Leon…"

_Yuffie…weren't you listening when I asked everyone to keep quiet about that?!?!?_ he thought angrily, standing up.

As if on cue, Yuffie noticed Squall in the room. She waved and smiled apologetically.

"Oops! Sorry Leo-I mean Squall. I forgot! I'm sorry I told Rinoa that…"

Rinoa looked at him incredulously.

"What?"

Squall put a hand to his forehead. Oh god…

"What's all this about the name Squall being shamed?"

"…I. couldn't protect you…" he mumbled incoherently.

"What?"

"…"

"Squaall…" said Rinoa in that disapproving voice of hers. "You know that you can't keep anything from me!"

"He said he couldn't protect you…" muttered Vincent, standing up.

Rinoa looked from the dark-haired man to the brown-haired one in surprise and shock. She was kind of surprised that Vincent had actually said something and touched about Squall's reasoning.

"Awwww…That's…That's so sweet of you…" she said, tears forming in her eyes, she said hugging him tightly.

Sora walked into the room to see Rinoa and Squall hugging each other, oblivious to the audience that they had.

On Tifa's request he had gone to the worlds Vincent had mentioned he had left some of her friends on. The kids Marlene and Denzel seemed to be having a blast in Atlantica, seeing as Sebastian had given them each a part in his musical, and Marlene seemed very happy to have a tail. The big man Barrett, who was with them, was far less enthusiastic about all of this. When Sora had mentioned Cloud and Vincent, the man had begun cursing colourfully under his breath and then told Sora that he better beat 'that spiky-haired bastard' to a pulp for him. Amused, Sora asked if Barrett wanted to send a message to Vincent…surprisingly Barrett declined, muttering something about prickly old men. Well, not wishing to be drafted into the hermit crab Sebastian's musical, Sora left quickly to find this 'Red XIII' friend. Sora had traveled to the Pride Lands to reunite with Simba, and his newest friend…A very large furry red creature with the number XIII tattooed into his flank. He kind of resembled a lion, though he really seemed more like a dog of sorts…well anyway, this was the first lion Sora had met who could do some _serious _magic. Red XIII, or Nanaki as he called himself, said that his magic was nothing compared to that of the Cetras, and had wished a message to pass on to Cloud.

"Tell him that he won't have to look after me any more. I think I've grown up quite a bit after our adventures…and…" The large red dog looked down at the cave floor sadly.

"…Tell him that the light of the Cetras isn't all gone…You just have to look hard enough to find the light…"

Sora had no idea what that meant but he had resolved to tell Cloud all the same. The plushy that Tifa had called Cait Sith had multiple clones all over the place. The stuffed cat had laughingly explained that all of them _were _just teddy bears being controlled by one man called Reeve. Sora had been surprised when he had found three of them in Halloween town…they were being wrapped as presents for children around the universe…

"Vincennntttt!!" shouted Yuffie, running over to the red-caped man.

She stopped in front of him, and spread her arms out wide.

"Give me a hug!!"

Vincent just looked at her.

"…"

"Come on! Squall gave Rinoa a hug!!"

Sora stared in confusion. Just exactly…how did that give Vincent any obligation to hug Yuffie? Personally, Sora would rather not be hugged by that man…his left arm was covered with gold-coloured armor, with claw extensions…

Yuffie started to bounce up and down impatiently.

"Come on Vinnie!! We're friends right???"

"…"

"Pftooie…" growled Yuffie dejectedly, sitting down in a huff.

The black-haired man looked to Sora, who flinched slightly at the red-eyed stare.

"What news?" he asked.

Sora pointed at himself, asking silently if the question was directed towards him. Vincent merely nodded once.

"Uh…well Tifa and Cloud aren't…"

"Yes we are!!" called Tifa walking into the room, "So, what news?"

Cloud came in a few moments later, being pushed in by Aerith.

"Come on, I know you want to hear the news too…"

Sora looked around, checking to see if everyone was paying attention.

"Well, we went around just like you asked, checking up on all of your friends…Tifa, why didn't you tell me that there were more than one Cait Sith? We ran into, like five of them…Umm, Marlene, Denzel and Barrett are all in Sebastian the crab's musical, and uhh…Barrett wanted me to tell you," he said looking towards Cloud, " 'what the hell is wrong with you, you spiky-haired jerk, leaving all of a sudden like that…" Sora looked towards his friends Donald and Goofy. "Did I get it right?"

Cloud groaned internally. God this was going to take a while…

8.8.8

As with most of the Organization's rooms, Naminé's room was completely white…except for the pictures. Pictures of people, places and things covered the large white table at which the blonde girl worked. She wished she could see the places she drew herself…If she was a real princess, she wouldn't be locked up in this castle and her knight would have come to save her by now…

_Sora…_

Despite the failure of Castle Oblivion, Naminé had modified and repaired bits of his memory…and that had gotten Roxas killed…

She wondered if it really counted as death, what happened to Number XIII. From what she overheard from the other Organization members, she and Roxas were the only ones to co-exist with their Others. Everyone else had lost their Others…

Suddenly a black portal opened in her room, and she suppressed a squeak of surprise. Even after all this time, she still hadn't gotten used to people popping into her room with those portals. Saix insisted on having a guard kept on her at all times…Naminé hoped that it would be someone other than Larxene or Marluxia. The two of them never just left her alone to draw. They'd always comment and in the case of Larxene, hit her if she ever talked back. Any one was better than those two…Everyone else just ignored her, or watched her draw with feigned interest.

"Hey Naminé!" said Number IX waving at her as he walked into her room. As usual, whenever he came his hood was off. Naminé smiled a tiny smile. She kind of liked Demyx. His music was always relaxing, and he actually acknowledged that she existed…in a figurative sense. Not that she actually…existed…

Surprisingly, Demyx was followed by a strange girl who Naminé had never seen before. The girl had silver hair, very much like Riku's, but it fell about her face very much like Zexion's, covering her right eye. The eye Naminé could see was a vivid pale bluish-green, that looked at her warily.

"This is Trix…she's Number…" Demyx started to say when he scratched his head to look back at the girl.

"Umm…they haven't decided yet about her Number, what with Roxas kind of not actually being dead and all…Have they come up with another name for you yet?"

"Well, they're debating between 'Aura Breaker', 'Cereal-girl', 'Tragic Blade' and 'Pain-in-the-neck', so I _really_ don't know…"

Naminé giggled at that. At least this girl had a sense of humour that was different than Axel's which was nice for a change. Naminé didn't understand half of the red-head's jokes…Anyway the man was a bit strange.

"Hey, Naminé which one of the four do you think suits her better?" asked Demyx, sitting down on the table, letting his legs swing back and forth like a little kid.

Naminé in response pulled out a silver crayon and began to draw.

"Hmmm…I hope you don't mind me saying this…but…" whispered Naminé drawing rapidly, "But…I think an angel suits you…"

"What?"

Naminé looked up at the older girl's face.

"You seem…like a nice person…"

Trix made a noise at that.

"Hmph…Me? Nice? I don't think so. Just ask Marluxia about our fight…"

"…"

Naminé was slightly disappointed with her reaction, but then again what did the word 'nice' mean to a person who couldn't feel anything?

"That's just the impression I get from you…"

Trix came to look at the Naminé's drawing. She had drawn Trix with black bird wings…Naminé originally intended them to be white, but after thinking a little bit, she decided against the white. Nobody's were darkness…they had no light in them, just darkness. The light refused to acknowledge their existence, and the dark granted them some solace if it could be called that…

Trix stared at her for a long moment. That green stare was kind of scary…

"You…what is your power?" she asked very softly.

"I…I can step into people's hearts and re-arrange their memories…I can draw memories of things that never happened…" said Naminé looking down at her lap. She was ashamed of her ability…all it could do was shackle people's hearts with false memories.

"You can also…you can also see a person's memories…"

"Y-Yeah…"  
Trix seemed thoughtful.

"It could just be coincidence…" she muttered to herself.

"What could be coincidence, Trixy?" asked Demyx growing a bit concerned about Trix's sudden change in behaviour.

"Sorry for bugging you," she said portalling out of the room.

"H-hey!!" started Demyx, but she was already gone.

Naminé looked at her picture again…Something about it had triggered Trix's thoughts…

8.8.8

Why did that man's face suddenly come to mind when she looked at that picture? Why? She could hear his voice…Calling, commanding…

She raised a hand to her face…

"Stop it…I can't…" she whispered, trying to placate the orders she was being given. Reunion must proceed as soon as possible if they were to take revenge upon the Planet…All the brothers and sisters must be gathered together…

"STOP IT!!!" she screamed, trying to drown out the voices in her head.

_I can't!!! I can't take this…What do you want from me? I'm nobody! I don't exist; I'm just the shadow of someone who's already dead! I'm the shadow of a fool! What do you want from me??_

"Trix?" she heard someone call her. She opened her eyes. She was on the floor.

"What happened? I heard you screaming…you didn't have another of those weird mood swings of yours did you?"

It was Axel…Why did _he_ care? She thought he hated her, for trying to kill him…Then again, could a Nobody really hold a grudge? Nope. Marluxia could, so maybe Axel really just didn't care about anything…

She staggered to her feet.

"Hey, are you okay? You don't look so good…"

_Find…Must find…_

"Must…" she heard herself say.

"What?"

"They hid…must…Mother…"

She felt herself open a portal and start to step through it.

_Mother…_

"Hey, hey!!" exclaimed Axel grabbing her shoulder and pulling her away from the portal. "Just where do you think you're going? You've been grounded, remember?" he said, waving his own hand at the portal to make it disappear.

"Axel…don't get in my way…" she said menacingly.

"Whoa…definitely the mood swings…" he whistled in surprise. "Ahhhh…guess it can't be helped," he sighed summoning up his chakrams, and Trix suddenly had her two swords in her hands.

"Oh, so _that_'s how you fight…just like Roxas, then again, you probably don't know who he is…" smirked Axel knowingly.

"It doesn't matter…" said Trix, "I have to do what Mother says…"

_Why am I doing this…? Do I…Am I…my body…it's not doing what I want it to…So I'm just a tool after all…_

"So you're just going to walk away from the Organization? I dunno about you, but when you jump on this train, willingly or not, there's no getting off…" This was almost like Roxas all over again…He'd told the younger Nobody that there was no turning away from the Organization. The memory of that day was almost painful for the red-head…

Trix suddenly dropped her swords and fell to her knees.

Okay…this was just getting weirder and weirder. First she's just a smart-ass little kid, then she's got these extreme mood swings, and now she's taking orders from some voice that she calls Mother in her head…

And he thought Saix had problems…

"Axel…Get away from me…" she panted, "The Jenova is…"

He looked at her confused.

"What?"

"I can't stop it…it's getting stronger and stronger…"

"Jenova? What? What are you talkin' about?"

"I don't know…I can feel him…he's calling all of us…" she grabbed her head.

"Stop it!!" she shouted at people only she could hear.

Then Demyx portalled in.

"Hey, Trixy what was up with just leaving like that…" he stared. Trix was on her knees holding her head, and Axel was standing in front of her with his weapons in hand.

"Wh-what…Axel what did you do?!?" shouted the Melodious Nocturne, his voice filled with anger and confusion.

"Hey, Demy! Look, Trix and I were…" Axel started to say when he was cut off by an angry Demyx.

"Trix was getting better! She was actually starting to be nicer, and she wasn't having any mood swings!"

"IF you would let me finish, she just _had_ one of those mood swings!" exclaimed Axel irritably. "Geez, Demy, you're acting as if she was your girlfriend or something…" he muttered softly. The Nocturne didn't seem to have heard

"All we did was go visit Naminé…" he said softly, as if trying to come up with an explanation as to Trix's latest outburst.

"And the little witch messed with her head?"

"NO! All Naminé did was draw a picture…Then Trix said something about 'coincidence' and then left…" said Demyx.

"Sephiroth…" mumbled Trix to herself, still holding her head. "He's calling…always calling…when did he get wings…?" she whispered.

Axel looked down at the girl.

"We should take her to the boss, or Zexy…Something's not right…"

* * *

**Well, the entire "GIVE ME A HUG!" part was...if you've played the game, very FF8 based...but I can just see Yuffie going to the most unlikely people and demanding hugs...So...Vincent gets to be the victim of that! Hooray!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey... I'm back. Though probably not for the fic you were hoping for... Truth be told, 'Nightmare' kind of just died... I re-read part of it and I was all: "wow this sucks. It's completely random, makes little to no sense, and there's no direction... Even if I do throw Deidara, Hidan and the rest of teenaged Akatsuki in there, its never going to work..." So yeah. It'll probably be just this and my Fire Emblem one going on... **

**And... I resent the fact that people see Trix as a Marysue. She clearly isn't. I needed someone to link Midgar to the world of Kingdom Hearts and she works really well. I can't use Reno, Rude, Elena, Tseng or Rufus...because that just doesn't work. I can't use Zack, Genesis or Angeal, because they're all dead. And Johnny does NOT count. In situations like these people need OC's, alright? I know her name sucks, and her personality is a disaster, because IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE THAT WAY. Don't like it, don't read, and if you really find it that hard to review something you don't like, then don't bother. **

* * *

Tifa looked at Cloud in alarm as soon as Sora delivered Red XIII's message. If the furry quadruped had been in that room, Tifa would have given him the drubbing of his life. She was also sorely tempted to beat the living daylights out of Sora but it wasn't the boy's fault. He had no idea what Cloud was going through…It really was only her and Vincent who understood the blonde at all. Vincent was like Cloud's mentor…in some weird way. They hardly talked to each other, but a lot seemed to be understood between the two. Maybe it was a guy thing…but then again Cloud and Squall never seemed to really get along in the first place. They were always taunting each other in subtle ways…

"Yeah, that's what Red XIII said…what's a Cetra anyway?" asked the Keyblade Master. Tifa shot him a murderous look. NOW was NOT the time to be mentioning Cetras…

Cloud just stood up and left the room.

"Cloud!" shouted Tifa, running after him but Vincent grabbed her arm.

"Vincent! Let go!!" she shouted at him.

"Leave him… This is his own problem…" said the red-eyed man.

"Cloud's problem?? This is NOT a problem!! He's upset and he needs..." Tifa responded angrily.

"He needs," interrupted Vincent with emphasis, "Some time alone…"

"How would _you_know anything about what he's going through?? You don't know how he feels or what…You don't know anything about him!!" cried Tifa, growing hysterical.

Vincent let go of her arm and stood up abruptly.

"_I_ don't know what he's going through?" growled Vincent, his baritone voice going several tones deeper. Everyone in the room flinched at that voice.

"Cloud blames himself for the death of not one, but of _two_ people dear to him…" said Vincent clearly forcing himself to stay calm. "It's _my_ fault that all of this is happening, because _I_ couldn't stop Lucrecia!!"

Tifa stared at Vincent in a sort of shocked awe. She had never heard him say so much at once…

"It is because of my mistakes that the Jenova Project happened and Sephiroth exists!! _Don't_ presume to tell me that I don't understand…" he growled, storming out of the room in a whirl of tattered cloth.

Sora stared slack-jawed at the empty doorway through which Vincent just disappeared through.

"What's he talking about? Who's Lucrecia? What's going ON?!?!" blurted Sora, holding his head in confusion. Squall patted him on the head.

"It's okay, join the club…"

"Lucrecia Crescent…Professor Lucrecia….she…she was Sephiroth's mother…" whispered Yuffie softly. Every one turned to stare at her. Yuffie just spoke _softly_…

"If I remember correctly, and I probly don't, Vinnie was in love with her, or some such…" said Cid, taking up the story.

"Course this was years ago, years before Sephiroth was born…"

"WHAT?!?" exclaimed Sora, Squall, Rinoa and Yuffie shocked. Yuffie was unexpected….she was from the same world as Vincent.

"Oh right, you dunno 'bout ol' Vinnie," muttered Cid, "Yuffie, weren't you listenin' at the waterfall? Oh, right…you were stealin' our Materia…"

"HEY!! I'll have you know that that stuff is _mine_!! All mine!! Cloud signed a contract!!" protested Yuffie.

"Sora, how _old_do you think Vincent Valentine is?" asked the airship pilot, an amused light in his eyes.

Sora pondered this over. _Clearly_ it was a trick question…but Sora couldn't find it…

"I dunno, maybe twenty to thirty?"

Squall snorted at that.

"He's older than twenty. Late twenties I'd think," said the brown-haired man.

Cid roared with laughter.

"Not even close!!" he shouted slapping his thigh. "He's nearly as old as the crazy loon with the books!!"

"That's not a very nice thing to call Merlin, Cid…" chided Aerith, her hands on her hips.

"Kids, Vincent is almost sixty years old…"

Everyone stared at him in shock.

"How…how is that possible?" stammered Squall.

"So he really _is_ a vampire?!?" exclaimed Sora at the same time. Cid shook his head at them.

"From what I gathered, when the Shin-ra Science head Hojo, Sephiroth's father," he added for clarification, "Shot Vincent…"

"He_shot_ him?"

"That old coot didn't like nobody messing around with his projects. Even the people on his side…then again, Vinnie was just a TURK so I guess Ol' Hojo didn't think…"

"What's a Shin-Ra and what's a TURK?" asked Sora, interrupting the older man.

"It's complicated, so just let me finish about Vinnie," said Cid waving the questions away.

"So, anyway, Hojo shot Vin in the gut for protesting against the Jenova Project…mainly 'cuz it involved Lucrecia's unborn child…" Cid leaned forward and spoke in a very confidential tone.

"Now, between you and me," he told Sora, "I seriously doubt that Hojo was Sephiroth's father…I mean, compare the two, and the kid looks a lot more like Vinnie…So I think there was something personal there…"

"Huh?"

"You'll get it when you're older…Now where was I? OH yeah…So Vinnie got shot and Hojo used his body for experiments…Ol' Valentine can turn into some _pretty_ crazy monsters…It doesn't really surprise me if he uses Chaos to travel the darkness…That thing is scary…" rambled Cid.

"So _that_ explains his age?" said Sora skeptically.

"The experiments changed Vincent a lot…" said Tifa, finally speaking.

"Later, I forc-asked," she corrected herself at the last second, "The TURKs I knew to give me his records…" she said softly.

"Vincent Valentine before the experiments…looked normal…" she told them. "He had brown hair, blue eyes and, was really good looking…" she added, blushing slightly.

"Ooooohhh, someone's got a crush!!" giggled Rinoa, clinging tightly to Squall's arm.

"Hey, I DO NOT!!! If you saw what he used to look like, you'd agree too!" protested Tifa.

"Maybe, but I don't think he's cute right now," said Rinoa sticking out her tongue at the other woman. "Squall is cute enough for me!" she said, still clinging to the man's arm.

"Hey," said Squall, putting his free hand to his face in frustration.

"Shouldn't we be going after Cloud and Vincent right now? Or if we decide to actually get back to work, we can start rebuilding Hollow Bastion…"

Rinoa pouted at that.

"Couldn't we rename this place? Hollow Bastion is such a stuffy sounding name…How about we rename it after the Garden?"

"What? Bastion Garden? Hollow Garden?"

"Weelll, anything would be better than what it is now, wouldn't it?"

8.8.8

Zexion had just returned to the lab when Axel and Demyx came running in. He suppressed a groan of irritation. Whenever those two came dashing into the lab, it was bad news. Either they were causing a distraction for Roxas to steal some sort of potion from Vexen or they just felt like bugging Number IV, or him for that matter…

However this time it seemed to be quite different. They smelled worried, or at least as worried as a Nobody could get…and they were accompanied by another scent…

When they burst through the door, the person they were coming with didn't come as a surprise, but rather: how.

Demyx came in carrying an unconscious Trix piggy-back style, whereas Axel seemed to be the one following…which was unusual, since everything in the red-head's nature seemed against it.

"What is the meaning of this?" asked Zexion, standing up from the couch he had placed in the lab.

Demyx looked panicky and carefully swung Trix from his back.

"She had another of those mood swings, and then…"

"She's completely lost it. Wakes up every now and then and talks about her mother Jenova or some such…" completed Axel.

So the Jenova possession was progressing faster.

It may have something to do with those strange people he had seen in Midgar…

Zexion nodded towards the couch.

"Put her there…" he said, going to retrieve the item that could possibly work. He had seen the most fascinating thing in that dark place of Midgar…It had always troubled him that although the world was overrun with Heartless, and there wasn't a living soul left there, that the world had not completely disappeared…It was a strange phenomenon.

"So, is she going to be okay?" asked Demyx worriedly. Zexion looked at the Nocturne strangely. Correct him if he was mistaken, or was Number IX speaking like…a human? Showing genuine concern over another person? Zexion rubbed his forehead. No, Demyx was just kidding himself…Faking emotions was what Nobodies did best. Then again, Demyx was one who desperately wanted his heart back. He had been a musician, and since then, as the Nocturne would remind you after every performance, that something was just _missing_. Now he knew…

This concern over Trix was just part of Demyx retaining his sanity.

"Probably. This should help," he said, opening the bottle.

"…Isn't that just water?" asked Axel, peering at the clear substance.

Zexion nodded.

"It is water from Tori Walker's home world…it has…unique properties," he said in his monotone.

There had been a dilapidated church filled with flowers…in the back had been a small flowing spring…That church was devoid of any Heartless or Nobodies, even Zexion had felt a sort of revulsion setting foot into that Church, yet…there was also something that made his empty chest ache…The water didn't just repel the Heartless, it destroyed them too…only some. With further testing, Zexion confirmed that the water destroyed Heartless and Nobodies who contained Jenova cells. Jenova was truly an incredible substance…capable of integrating itself into the very soul of the person it infected, simply amazing. There was a chance that Trix would die from this suppression attempt, but if she survived the Organization would have no further need to worry about her loyalty.

Carefully Zexion poured some of the water into a sterile syringe, and pulled back the right sleeve on Trix's Organization uniform, to which they were greeted with a rather gruesome sight. The skin was mottled with purple, black and blue, and it _bubbled_.

"What is this?" exclaimed Axel shocked.

Zexion responded by simply injecting the water directly into the infected area. He had heard those three silver-haired teenagers talking about their siblings infused with Jenova cells…They had called it Geostigma. A darkness that was implanted within a person's physical and spiritual heart…It was probably the cause of this strange colouring.

The moment Zexion injected the water into her arm vein, small streams of green coloured light began to rise up from the dark skin and dissipate into the air.

"I believe it worked…" he said when he noticed that some slight discolouration on her arms was still there.

_So it won't go away that easily…_ Jenova clearly wasn't intent on leaving this host too soon.

"She should be fine for now," he said putting away the water. "Vexen and I both believe that this is only temporary. We will have to continue to suppress…whatever this is…" he said gesturing towards her arm.

"So she needs to keep drinking water?"

"Not just water, Number IX. This water." He said, indicating the container.

"We'll have to see how long this lasts before she can leave the castle…" said the Superior as he warped into the room, bringing a squeak of surprise from Demyx. Zexion kind of expected it. Even as apprentices, Xehanort always eavesdropped on every one else's conversations, no matter how trivial…even the ones between him and Aeleus…He'd always thought that the man had nothing better to do…

"She will watch over Naminé," he told them.

The other three Nobodies said nothing. No one questioned the Superior's orders no matter what…except maybe Trix…

8.8.8

Naminé was surprised when it was the dark-angel girl who came into her room that day.

She felt nervous. Axel had told her that the girl Trix was unstable and that her meddling had pushed her over the edge. Naminé didn't really like the idea of spending hours in the same room with such a person…She didn't know if she could draw in such an atmosphere…

Trix walked to the opposite end of Naminé's table and sat down on a quickly summoned chair.

Naminé pretended to be grossly absorbed in drawing a picture of Twilight Town, but she kept stealing furtive glances at the silver-haired girl. She looked different now. She looked tired, and her skin was much paler than before. Naminé could see that her pupils were more slit-like now...

"You know…" said Trix so suddenly that Naminé broke the crayon she was holding. Trix looked slightly amused at that.

"I don't blame you for what happened then. I actually should thank you for it…Because of that little incident, the Superior isn't ordering me to get Cloud Strife's Nobody…" she said, looking up at the white ceiling.

"I knew him once…well, my Other did…my stupid, fool of an Other…She's the one I blame for all of this mess…"

Naminé felt a little awkward. Weren't Nobodies supposed to… envy their Others? Their Others had hearts, and they could feel, whereas they…they felt nothing. But this Trix clearly…didn't like hers all too much…Maybe it was the memories. But the memories were all they really all the Nobodies had to define themselves ….

"I…I'm sorry…" whispered Naminé.

"For what? Didn't I just say that I was thanking you?" said Trix looking at her strangely.

The silver haired girl sighed.

"I guess you're one of those who idolize their Others…"

"No…" said Naminé softly.

"Hmmm?"

"My…my Other is still alive…just like Roxas's…"

"Hmmm…"

Naminé took the following silence as a cue for her to shut up and continue drawing. They sat there in the room for hours on end. Neither one of them speaking. Naminé kept stealing glances at the silver-haired girl who seemed completely bored out of her mind. Tentatively, Naminé got up from her chair holding a few sheets of paper and a pencil. Personally, Naminé hardly ever used pencils. She preferred the childishness of crayons…and the colours. Naminé didn't like to see the world in black and white. The darkness and the light had rejected her both, so she preferred the in-between spectrum. The world of colour…But in terms of drawing, a pencil was much better for precision.

"Ummm…I know it's kind of boring, sitting there watching _me_ draw all the time…so…I thought…here!" she stammered thrusting the paper and pencil in front of Trix.

_What kind of princess am I? I can't even present someone with a piece of paper properly…_

"D-Do you like drawing?" she asked the older girl. Trix gave her a small smile.

"No."

"Oh…I'm sorry…" said Naminé feeling ashamed of herself. She should have asked first before giving her the paper.

"Thanks for the consideration…"

Naminé went back to her seat, and resumed her drawing of Sora, Donald and Goofy.

After about another two hours, Trix picked up the pencil and began to draw. Naminé fought the urge to stand up and go see what the other Nobody was doing.

_That would be rude…_she told herself, continuing her sketches.

The two of them sat there, drawing away, until finally Naminé could stand it no longer. She _had_ to see what Trix had drawn. It was an artist's thing, she supposed.

Walking over, she tapped the silver-haired Nobody on the shoulder.

"Can I see?" she asked with a shy smile.

Trix shrugged and passed her the sheet. Naminé's jaw dropped.

Sure the girl could not actually like drawing, but she was _very_ good. She had drawn out at least four different locations on one sheet of paper, each one fading into the other. A dilapidated church filled with flowers, a huge ruined building…a meteor falling into a city and a star filled sky. The pencil was reduced to a tiny stub. Naminé was surprised. She hadn't given the girl a sharpener…she hadn't noticed her sharpening the pencil.

"T-This…this is really good!!" she exclaimed, "Where is this place?" she asked pointing at the church.

"My Other's homeworld…" sighed Trix, stretching. "Everything there is broken and dilapidated…" she yawned.

"From what I heard from Zexion and the others, there's nothing left there…just Heartless…and probably Jenova…"

"Jenova?"

"Never mind…"

"Wha-"

"NEVER MIND!"

* * *

**So...updates will be slow...**


	8. Chapter 8

**So...ummm... yeah, this chapter is double the length, because... umm...I felt like it? Because I've only submitted up to page 71 of 162(so far) and umm...yeah...**

**I say 'ummm...yeah' a lot.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy VII or any of the characters I use. Except for Trix. Not her name, but the character herself...just not the name... She's named after a cereal, big deal...**

* * *

After the usual shock of having transformed into something weird for the umpteenth time. Sora was ready to roll in Halloween Town.

"So? What should we do?" asked Donald in that nearly incoherent manner of his.

"Well, for starters, maybe we should find Jack…" started Sora, when the very person they were talking about popped up behind them.

"BOO!!"

"QUAAACK!!!" exclaimed Donald.

"Hiya Jack!" said Sora cheerily. After all of the times Jack had tried to scare them, Sora just wasn't affected anymore.

The skeleton looked slightly disappointed, by Sora's reaction, but immensely pleased by Donald's.

"Hi Sora! Are you here to see Sandy Clause again too?"

"Sandy who?"

"Sandy Clause! Recently everyone's been coming to visit Sandy Clause!!"

"Oh! Santa!!" exclaimed Sora remembering Jack's bad pronounciation.

"Yeah! Can we see him?"

"Of course! But there's a line-up! Some men in black just went up there to see Sandy Clause too!!"

Sora immediately grew suspicious.

"Men in black cloaks?"

"A vampire and a zombie. They were very scary…well the zombie not so much, but he was quite scary."

"They must have been from the Organization!!" said Goofy, stating the obvious.

"We have to stop them from getting to Santa Clause!!" said Donald, taking up the cause. Awaiting Sora's response, they failed to notice that the boy had already left.

The Organization was _always_ one up on him. They knew what was going on, and Sora couldn't shake away the feeling that he was being _used_. He didn't know how, but every time there was a crisis in a world involving the Heartless, he'd find Nobodies under the direction of the Organization there too.

_Well it all stops here! I'll find them here and beat them down!! When they try to escape, I'll follow them into the darkness and beat the rest!!_

8.8.8

Zexion_really_ didn't know why the Superior had sent _Demyx_ of all people with him on this mission. First off, Zexion didn't really even know why _he_ was being sent on a mission in the first place. The Superior had told him just a few days before that stabilizing Trix was of utmost importance, and then sent him out to Halloween town to procure some fat man named Santa Clause's Nobody. Zexion was almost useless in these cases. Zexion hardly ever left the Castle for a very good reason. He didn't _want_ to. A person like him, who much preferred to stay indoors with a big fat book, would _not_ want to go running outside. Besides, Zexion was not much of a fighter. His weapons were magic, and a book. If it came to physical blows, Zexion was as useful as a book, and a flimsy paperback one at that.

Zexion thought that if he was being sent somewhere, then at least his partner, if he would have one, would compensate for his lack of fighting abilities. But no…they sent _Demyx_.

_The Superior…wants me dead…_ was the only logical conclusion Zexion could come to at the moment. The Melodious Nocturne had the uncanny ability to drive Zexion up the wall. The older teen could just _not_ shut up!

"We're going to see Santa, we're going to see Santa!!" Demyx was singing, as he skipped after Zexion through the snow.

Zexion thought that he might be sick. He knew about the different transformations one could go through when travelling worlds…he was a vampire now, for heaven's sake…and Demyx was some weird zombie…thing…with two legs and two arms, and a blonde mullet…The colour clash really did not work well.

"Number IX, kindly lower your voice and cease your childish prattling…" growled Zexion. It was seriously hard to believe that Demyx was technically _older_ than him.

"Awwwwww…c'mon Zexy!"

"Don't call me that…"

"We're actually going to see Santa!!"  
_Like I didn't know that…_

"How many people actually get to see Santa?? Huh?"

"Might I remind you of our mission?" asked Zexion irritably. He was seriously beginning to doubt that Demyx had a brain…

"We are here to _kill_ Santa Clause and obtain his Nobody."

Why the Superior wanted a fat Nobody was beyond him…but the Superior's words were law…

Demyx stifled a sniffle.

"Well…could I at least see if I'm on the nice list?"

"Number IX…we don't exist. So how could you be on this hypothetical list?" asked Zexion irritably.

"Awww, it's okay…I'm sure you're on the list too!"

_He so does not get the point_…

Zexion maintained his silence as Demyx continued his childish prattling until they reached the workshop, where the zombie-Demyx began to jump up and down with joy.

"We're actually here!! We're actually at Santa's workshop!"

Zexion ignored the other Nobody and entered the building. He was greeted with the sight of a very fat man with a white beard dressed in a red suit.

"HO HO HO!!!" laughed the man so hard that his belly jiggled.

"SANTAAA!!!" squealed Demyx, jumping up and down.

"That's quite a transformation you've gone under!! HO HO HO!!!" chuckled the fat man.

"Are you here to see if you're on my nice list?" he asked.

Before Demyx could say anything, Zexion summoned up his book and cast Stopga on the fat man.

"Hey Zexyyy!!!" protested Demyx.

Zexion seriously had had enough, and so he rounded on Demyx.

"Do_not_ forget the fact, Number IX, that as a member of Organization XIII, that you **do not have** a heart! We are Nobodies, we _do not_ exist!"

"B-but!!"

Zexion ignored him and prepared to kill the red suited man in front of him, when the Keyblade Master barged through the door.

"Hold it right there!!" shouted Sora.

"…Roxas…" growled Zexion irritably. If it weren't for all these pests, the mission would have been accomplished a long time ago…Demyx would face his wrath…

"Demyx. You handle him," he ordered the Nocturne.

"What? ME? Handle Roxas??" spluttered the blonde musician.

"_Excuse_ me??" said Sora hopelessly confused.

The boy was clearly as thick as Demyx was…remarked Zexion dryly. He had no idea, did he, about his Nobody?

Zexion simply grabbed Santa by the shirt and began to drag him away. The duck attempted to attack with a Thunder spell, but Zexion merely deflected it.

"I leave it to you Number IX…" he said, entering another room, which Zexion knew to be empty of any living thing.

8.8.8

Demyx stared after Zexion slack-jawed. He didn't actually…He didn't actually expect him to be able to handle the Keyblade Master did he??? Zexion knew how bad he was at fighting!!

_He wants me dead…_was Demyx's first thought, but he quickly dismissed it. _No, Zexion couldn't possibly want to kill me! He's a nice guy!_

"You're going down!!" said Sora, summoning up his Keyblade.

"Awww, c'mon Roxas!" said Demyx cajolingly. There was no way he could beat the Key of Destiny's Other in a fight, so he might as well try to bring Roxas out…

"You know me, Demyx! You used to hang out with me an' Axel…Remember,_Axel_? Your best friend?"

"Who is this kook?" Sora asked his friends, pointing at Demyx.

Okay, so clearly that wasn't going to work…Well…aggression always did bring out Roxas' bad side…

Quickly summoning up his sitar, Demyx began to play.

"Dance, water dance!!" he chanted, getting his water clones ready.

Just as the battle started to get up, a black blur burst out from a recently made portal. It was another Organization member, with their hood up. Whoever it was instantly made the water clones disappear, and blasted Sora and company backwards with a wave of their hand.

"We're going back." Demyx knew that voice…

"Trixy?" he asked tentatively

The silver-haired girl pushed her hood back.

"Now that you've said my name, _clearly_ there is no reason for me to be hiding my face!" she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Demyx's mouth formed a small 'Oh'.

"Where's Zexy?" she asked him.

"HUH???" exclaimed the Keyblade's trio.

Demyx stared at her. She _never_ used that nickname…

"Why are you here?"

"Orders, what else?"

"But…weren't you grounded?"

"Doesn't matter. We're going. So where is he?"

"Here," answered the Schemer coming through the door, "Thanks to Demyx's incompetence, Santa Clause escaped…"

"HEY! DON'T IGNORE US!!!" shouted Sora's party at the three Nobodies, who merely continued to ignore them.

"Why the call-back?" asked Demyx.

Trix eyed him tiredly.

"You,_really_ don't want to know…"

"Yah-huh I do!"

"…The Superior wants to have a…group dinner …"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

It was Sora who broke the silence.

"WHAT???"  
Trix shot the Keyblade wielder a baleful glare.

"Hey…you're that brat…"

"I am _not_ a brat!"

"Okay,_boy_" said Trix degradingly, "You should realize that the Organization…is like one very dysfunctional family…and since you apparently haven't been in the loop, _Mr.Hero,_it would help you to know that the Superior is throwing a hissy fit, so just, shut up…" growled Trix, opening up a portal.

Zexion was the first to go through, and with a sharp swift kick to the behind, Demyx was next.

"Don't even think about following us. You'll just get lost…" said Trix, winking at Sora before leaving as well.

8.8.8

Sora stared after the silver-haired girl in a sort of shocked horror.

"WHAAAATTTTT???" he yelled. "What the heck was that all about??"

"How should _we_know??" answered Donald irritably.

"They cause all this trouble and then they just…just LEAVE to have DINNER??"

What was _wrong_ with these people???

"Ho..ho…ho…" came a weak voice from the room the one called Zexion had come from.

"SANTA!!!" they shouted in unison, running towards the red suited man.

"Are you alright, Santa?" they asked him, helping him to his feet.

"I'm just peachy…ho, ho ho…" the man told them. "That strange vampire was doing something strange…but this cat here saved me…"

"CAIT SITH??!" exclaimed Sora surprised. He thought that they'd all been sent to children across the world already…

"Yeah-huh! It's me! The one and only Cait Sith!! Geez…I sounded just like Yuffie there…" said the plushie, scratching its head.

"What are you doing here?"

"Nuttin' much…little o' this, little o' that…" answered the cat.

"How're Cloud and the others? You _can_ talk to them right?"

"Woah, woah, woah!!" protested the cat, raising its paws, "Easy there buddy! Ol' Reeve only has so many hands and brain power to operate all twenty-three of us…"

"_There're TWENTY-THREE of YOU???_"

"E-Easy there Sora…" said the stuffed animal. "Reeve likes to be informed…"

"Can you talk to Cloud?"

"Hey, there are a lot of things I can do, but telepathy isn't one of them!"

"What…"

"The only thing connectin' me to the other twenty-two Cait Sith is Reeve's brain! You don't want to kill the poor guy do ya?"  
Sora shrugged sheepishly.

"S-Sorry…"

"Hey, I know how you feel! The bad guys just walked out on ya…happens all the time to me…"

"What?"

"I'm a plushie! There are plenty o' things I can do, but there're some I can't…like fight. So no villain ever takes me seriously…" answered the stuffed cat, his ears drooping.

"Ah, it's okay…I bet those guys just ran from us!" proclaimed Sora with a sort of forced bravado. He knew that the Organization was probably planning something nasty for them. The dinner thing was probably used just to throw him off guard…Yeah, it had to be…

8.8.8

Zexion had originally thought that it had been some sort of ploy…or at least hoped. Xehanort always had these weird ideas that he would suddenly come up with and drag everyone else into them…Like the entire continuation of their investigation into the Heart of All Worlds…

So when they returned to find the entire Organization assembled in the dining room…with all of the best cutlery out…Zexion wasn't surprised.

Demyx tapped him on the shoulder and whispered rather loudly into his sensitive ears.

"Trix was _serious?!?!?_"

Zexion resisted the immediate urge to punch the older teenager in the face. He knew that he would probably hurt himself more than he would hurt the Nocturne, so instead he made a hissing noise.

"Demyx, since when have I ever been a liar?" asked the silver-haired girl walking out of the portal after them.

"That's Luxord's job. Besides. I was grounded," she stated matter-of-factly. "I was only allowed out to get you two since everyone else was busy…"

"So…are we really here for dinner?"

Trix shrugged, glancing towards Zexion who had moved to sit down.

"Dunno…best sit down though…" she said, taking her own seat. Demyx shrugged and did as she told him.

Zexion noted the something small shining from around Trix's neck, and repressed a knowing smirk. So Vexen really did use his idea. A small vial of the water kept on the girl at all times…At first Number IV had scoffed at the idea, but he had used it anyway. Zexion could rub it in the old geezer's face for years…if he could have felt the satisfaction of it…

Even as an apprentice, Even, or Vexen as he was called now, never really did get along with Ienzo, despite the fact that they were both very intellectual people. Ienzo had gotten along much better with Aeleus, whom he had regarded as the big brother he had never had.

Those relationships had stayed that way, even after they lost their hearts. Zexion would spend time with Lexaeus doing nothing, talking about nothing. Just like they used to. Besides, Lexaeus was the one person who would eat all of his pickled vegetables and cooking, besides Trix…That girl would eat anything so long as it wasn't made by Larxene. Then again, no one except for Marluxia and Demyx would show up whenever the Savage Nymph was cooking…and only if threatened. Everyone else would run off to other worlds, or hole themselves up in the lab.

Zexion found it intriguing that even after losing all feeling, his previous life's relationships remained…in a fashion. The fact that he preferred Lexaeus's company compared to say…Axel's, was not just a personality issue, but a gut feeling.

Zexion felt a smirk coming, and immediately smoothed on his face. It could have been funny, he supposed. A Nobody talking about a gut feeling…Then again, that's what Xigbar talked about whenever he used his manipulation of gravity when he was shooting…Not that Zexion took anything the Freeshooter said seriously. The man was a hopeless braggart…who looked like a pirate to boot.

"Gentlemen…ladies…" intoned the Superior, causing those who hadn't gotten seats to sit down. "You are all probably wondering as to why I have assembled all of you, putting on hold of our plans and missions…"

"Hey! It's Naminé!" whispered Demyx loudly to Trix, who looked at him scornfully from the corner of her visible eye.

"No, duh! Like we couldn't tell ourselves!" she hissed back at him.

Zexion hid a knowing smirk. Trix had grown irritable being stuck to the castle. She had seen only a few worlds, and clearly wished to see more. Demyx's innate ability to read her moods would be failing him right about now…

"We are all here…because we are a family. Yes, Organization XIII is a family. We have gone through so much together, bonded by our common loss…Though we cannot feel, we remember. That is what makes us different than the Dusks we command…we have had our losses…Roxas, Number XIII, the Key of Destiny…But now we have a new addition to our family, Number XIV Trix, the Aura Breaker!" he said motioning towards the silver-haired girl, who seemed completely nonplussed about this all.

_If this is just supposed to be a welcoming party…why did it have to be now?_ was the question on everyone's mind…except maybe Saix's.

"I have pulled you all from your missions for a specific reason…Our plan to create Kingdom Hearts with the power of the Keyblade will reach another level…Therefore tonight, we celebrate, and we shall_all_ get along," said Xemnas looking at each and everyone of them

_This means __you_, was the message in that look. _Yes you will get along with so and so…__**or you will regret it**__…_

With that speech, the Organization's Superior sat down.

"Let the feast begin…"

8.8.8

Naminé didn't know what to do…When Larxene had come up to her room and half-pulled, half-dragged her out of there, she hadn't a clue what was going on. The blonde woman didn't explain anything, and now here she was, sitting with the rest of the Nobodies…for dinner.

She hadn't really been paying attention to anything Xemnas was saying until he got to the part about Trix.

'_Aura Breaker'_ she thought surprised, _why a name like that…?_

Across the table, Naminé heard Trix mutter under her breath.

"Aura Breaker? What kind of crap name is that? I don't know anything about aura breaking…"

"Well…well, maybe it's about like your mood swings! Like you broke the record for weirdest chord progressions!!" whispered Demyx enthusiastically.

"Demy…I don't think you get the point here…" sighed Axel.

_Why am I here?_ Naminé asked herself. _I don't belong here…with these people…if we are people…_

Naminé tried hard to not cry. If she cried…Larxene and Marluxia would never let it end…

_I'm a princess…Princesses are supposed to be strong…_

"Well, actually, a majority of the ones I've met are absolute wimps…" said Trix, putting a piece of bread into her mouth.

"Since when have _you_ met any princesses?" asked Demyx interested.

"Never."

"But you said…"

"Let it go, Demyx…"  
Naminé was surprised, she was pretty sure she hadn't said that aloud…Was Trix a mind-reader.

"No. You're muttering under your breath," Trix told her, "And I don't waste my time doing nothing in the Castle."

That's right…Naminé realized. Whenever Trix came to supervise her, she always brought a book…or stacks of them. Naminé had never worked up the nerve to ask her what they were about.

"I'm sorry…"

Trix looked at her with an amused expression.

"What are you apologizing for? I'm just pointing out your complete lack of discretion over your thoughts…"

"…S-sor…" before Naminé could finish, Trix shoved a bread slice into her mouth.

"I don't want to hear it…" sighed the older girl. "Just eat…I doubt we'll be getting fast food like this ever again…"

When the Superior had said they would have a family dinner and had Trix and Marluxia set out the cutlery together…to improve their relations, claimed Xemnas. They had speculated that the Superior intended to throw some sort of banquet with...Trix didn't know, some sort of high-class food.

As a TURK, the fanciest thing they got besides rations was…the food from Tifa's bar…And that woman overcharged them every time…

So when the time for the food came…deep fried chicken, hamburgers, and take-out salads were...a kind of surprise …

The Superior said they were a family…so therefore, for fourteen people…he'd ordered family packs from twenty different fast food joints across the worlds that _had_ fast food stores…

So all in all…the dinner didn't really go well. It kind of was to be expected. Put all of Organization XIII, minus Roxas, plus Naminé, plus Trix, in one room…and _some_ sort of disaster was bound to happen.

A minor food fight between Xiggy and Marluxia erupted but was quickly quelled by a single glare from the Superior. At least the conversation was pretty intelligent… or not.

"Hey, Zexy…what's the first thing you're gonna do when you get your heart back?" Demyx asked the Cloaked Schemer, who merely continued to pick at his weirdly coloured salad…the lettuce looked pretty bad…and he didn't want to know what the sauce was supposed to be…Maybe the chicken would be better…despite all of its greasiness…

"Zexion…" said the Superior, looking pointedly in his direction.

"Yes?"

"Answer the question."  
_You can't be serious…_

"What?"

"What is it that you will do when you get your heart back?"

Zexion stared at the man incredulously. He had never really given this much thought…

"Kill Demyx." He heard himself blurt out most uncharacteristically.

"HUH? Why's that??"

"WHAAAAAAT???"  
Zexion suddenly found himself babbling.

"Because. If I kill him now, I won't be able to feel happy about having finally shut him up, so I'm saving it for later!" he said. Zexion doubted that he had ever spoken so fast before in his life…

Everyone stared at him in silence.

Trix snorted after a few seconds.

"Not if _I_ get him first…"

Xigbar stood up indignantly at that.

"Hey! He's _mine_! Besides I'm faster than you little girl!"

"Wanna bet?"

Luxord pulled out his cards.

"Twenty to one odds on Xigbar, who's in?" he asked.

"500 munny on the Freeshooter," said Marluxia immediately.

"How come no one wants to know what I want to do???" whined Demyx, "Why does everyone want to kill me???" he blubbered burying his head in his arms. Axel patted him reassuringly on the back.

"Ahh, don't worry Demyx, I won't let them kill you…"

"Really?"

"Yeah…Cause_I'll_ be the one to kill you…" said Axel solemnly.

"WHAAAATTT?!?!??!" screamed Demyx, pushing himself away from the Flurry of Dancing Flames.

"Just kidding…" laughed Axel, putting another chicken drumstick in front of the Nocturne.

"Geez Demy, you're so gullible…"

"Awww…did Axel scare the poor baby?" sneered Larxene from down the table.

Demyx tried to cover up a sniffle. Just because he was _sensitive_ didn't give her a reason to pick on him…But that was just the way Larxene was…she picked on the weak…just like Marluxia.

"Hmph. Pathetic…" sniffed the pink-haired man.

"Look who's talking…" sighed Trix, reaching for a hamburger.

"What did you say?"

"I said look who's talking," she said taking a bite of her recently procured burger. "You didn't do to well against me Flower boy…"

Marluxia stiffened slightly at the use of Axel's nickname for him. He glared daggers at the red-head, who was pre-occupied with throwing something at Luxord.

"How about this," the Gambler was saying whipping out his cards while dodging flaming chicken bones. "We play a nice game of blackjack. Whoever wins, gets to kill him."

"That's a stupid idea Luxord! He's _mine_!!!" growled Xigbar, pointing one of his guns at him.

Zexion heaved a sigh and looked towards Lexaeus, who gave him the tiniest of smiles.

_I actually talk and this is what happens…_ shrugged the Schemer.

_You always did cause trouble…_was what he read in Lexaeus's expression.

Zexion thought otherwise. From what he could recall, he wasn't the troublemaker, it was always Braig. Usually the problem would go along the lines of Braig stealing Ienzo's latest research papers or potions and holding them out of the smaller boy's reach. Ienzo would counter with his arsenal of blackmail material. If that didn't work, Lexaeus would usually come to solve all of little Ienzo's problems. If only Axel knew that he was such an amateur when it came to the blackmail department…

While this short interchange was going on, Trix and Marluxia were set to tear each other's throats out, and the Superior was trying to reinstate order.

Naminé looked absolutely terrified at the chaos around her. All of them were yelling and shouting at each other…and Demyx was crying…She wanted to go back to her room and sit there in the silence…Silence was much better than all of this…

At some point during her argument with Marluxia, Trix grabbed Zexion's picked at salad and slammed it into the pink-haired man's face.

"Just shut up Petal Boy!!" she shouted at him, following through with the blow, sending him to the floor.

"TRIX! GET OFF THE TABLE!!!" roared Xemnas, causing everyone to stop arguing, laughing or sobbing, in Demyx's case. The Superior hardly ever raised his voice…except when he was mad…

"Everyone is to return to their quarters, _now_." Said the golden-eyed man, glaring darkly at every one of them. His tone told them exactly what he would think of any complaints right now.

"Trix, Demyx, escort Naminé back to her room."

"Wh--" Demyx cut himself off. He wasn't _that_ stupid…most of the time…

Trix grabbed a hold of Naminé's arm and opened up a portal.

"C'mon, let's go…I don't want to spend any more time with Flower Power here…" she growled, shooting off a glare in Marluxia's direction.

"Hey!" the pink-haired man began to protest, when the blue-haired Berserker interrupted him.

"_Leave_it…"growled Saix warningly.

Of_course_ Xemnas' lapdog would be sucking up for more points with the Superior…It wasn't as if it would help him get his heart back faster…

At a loss for anything to say, Naminé found herself hauled back to her room by the silver-haired girl.

"If you're so unhappy, don't let it show," Trix said aloud. Naminé didn't really know if she was talking to her, or not. Number XIV of the Organization was a strange one. She acted so strangely at times…as if she was many different people, with one appearance. Naminé had heard rumors that Trix heard voices in her head…

"Just because you don't have a heart doesn't make you any less human…" Trix continued to say, "Unless of course, you're the Nobody of a fish, but I haven't seen any of those yet…" joked the girl. Naminé looked at the floor of her white, white room.

"I'm sorr…"

"Geez, girl! What is with you and apologizing? There's nothing to be sorry for…besides, we can't even feel sorrow…" laughed Trix mirthlessly.

"D-Do you miss it?"

"What?"

"Feeling…anything?"

Trix looked at her with her aquamarine eyes, an appreciative light in them.

"Yeah…isn't that why I'm here? In this Organization?" she said gesturing towards the white walls. "We may not have hearts and feelings; those were taken away from us…But we have our thoughts, memories and will. We're just…not whole people…Fractions, if you would…" The girl smiled a small smile.

"You want to be able to feel about someone the way your Somebody feels about that Keyblade boy, don't you, Naminé?"

Naminé gave a little gasp at that.

"Don't look so surprised girl. I look at your drawings…" chuckled Trix, turning to leave.

"And if Demyx shows up tell him that he's late and that his ass is_mine._"

* * *

**So... the food fight...umm... I'm not really working at all, now am I...**


	9. Chapter 9

**Seeing as I'm going away for a bit (as in 3 days) I'm updating this...because I can. Meaning I have had this part written for a very, very long time.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, and it's characters. Neither do I own Final Fantasy VII and it's characters, nor Final FantasyVIII, or FFVII: Crisis Core, Before Crisis or Dirge of Cerberus. (I know there has been no mention of Crisis Core, or the oddly named Before Crisis people yet, but that's much much later...) **

* * *

Sora returned to Hollow Bastion tired and worn out. He had been running from world to world, hoping to hear any news of Riku or the Organization…and had heard nothing.

Presently he was sitting at a table across from Squall, eating…Rinoa's cookies. Sora suppressed a groan. He would much rather eat Aerith's cooking…but this new girl insisted that Squall only eat _her_ cooking…which was horrible by the way. Who made chocolate chip cookies with…apricots? Or limes? Her soups were disastrous and she definitely could burn a salad. Admittedly, that was with Yuffie in the kitchen at the same times, which made it slightly more acceptable…sort of.

And since Sora had happened to show up at the wrong time…Rinoa's cookies was all there was for him to eat, seeing as Cid had been the one cooking that evening. Surprisingly, her cookies were the one thing he hadn't tossed into the pot that evening…If that wasn't a sign, Sora didn't know _what_ was…

"So, any luck?" asked the Gunblade specialist.

Sora shook his head while Donald and Goofy kept on eating.

"No one has seen Riku or any of the Organization for that matter…though I think they've got another Nobody on their side…"

"You saw this one?"

"Three of them showed up in Halloween Town…they were going after Santa…"

"WHATTT???!?!?!" Yuffie was heard screaming from upstairs. There was a loud crash from the stair well.

"Ummm…" Sora wasn't exactly sure if he should ask her if she was alright or not…Thankfully the Keyblade Master wasn't given the time to make that oh so very hard decision, for in bounced the ninja girl rubbing her head.

"Hahahaha!! I'm fine! You don't think a little fall down the stairs would hurt me?"

Vincent who was following her smirked.

"Hmph…"

"AAHHH!!! YOU JUST THOUGHT OTHERWISE DIDN'T YOU??" exclaimed Yuffie whirling around to point at him and fell over in the process.

"Owwww…." She groaned, getting back to her feet. The teenaged ninja then looked up at Vincent.

"Vinnie, why are you so mean? You wouldn't give me a hug, you wouldn't return my phone calls, and now you think mean things about me!!!"

Vincent didn't seem to be paying attention.

"GIVE ME A HUG DAMMIT!!!" Yuffie screamed at him.

Vincent just ignored her.

Yuffie immediately gave up and turned her attention back to Sora.

"So Santa exists??" she squealed bouncing up and down like a little kid.

"Uh, yeah…we met him…"

"WHAAAAA?? You're so lucky Sora! You got to meet Santa!! Was I on the nice list?? Was I? WAS I???"

"Uhh…well, we didn't exactly…get the chance to…uh…ask…"  
Yuffie stared at him incredulously.

"You…you forgot to ask about me? Your bestest friend??" she said her lower lip quivering.

_She's not my best friend…Riku is…_was Sora's first thought but then he began to chastise himself mentally. _She's still my friend, but at a time like that, why would I ask about her??_

"Well, we didn't get the chance to because the Organization showed up!" interjected Goofy, looking up from his cookie.

"Oh…I guess that's okay…"  
Sora looked gratefully towards his friend, who mainly shrugged and returned to eating Rinoa's disgusting cookies…

"So? Do you know the ones who came?"

"A vampire and a zombie…"  
Squall just stared at him. Clearly a description like that, _wasn't_ clear.

"I don't really know, seeing as people transform in Halloween Town…But another one showed up through one of those dark portals they use…She technically wasn't _in_ Halloween Town, so I guess she didn't change…"

"A girl? What did she look like?" asked Squall leaning forward, interested, when Yuffie hit him over the head.

"Squall!" she said disapprovingly, "You already have Rinoa! What are you doing asking about other women?!?"

"I'm_asking_ him, so I can put out a _description_ of this girl, so that if she shows up in Hollow Bastion, we will _know_ that she is a _Nobody._" He said emphasizing certain words.

"Oh…"

Sora looked between the two of them awkwardly, and at Vincent's prompt, began to talk.

"Silver hair, not very long, not very short. Pale skin, bluish green eyes that kind of glow…"

"A Remnant?" breathed Vincent to himself.

"A what?"

"…"

"Come on! Explain Vincent!!"

"…no…"

"WHY???" chorused six voices angrily.  
Vincent closed his eyes.

"I…I will respect Cloud's wishes…"

Everyone was surprised.

"Cloud doesn't want us to know??"

"Awww...he's so troublesome!!"

"He has a reason, right?"

Vincent nodded once.

Sora looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking.

"Where_is_ Cloud anyway?"

8.8.8

Cloud stared out across the skeletal structures of the rebuilding Hollow Bastion. It looked kind of like Midgar...in the dark, and if you squinted a bit. No…not really…

Sora had just come back, but the Ex-SOLDIER didn't really feel like going to see the Keyblade Master. He knew he should, but…that brat's two friends were really, _really_ annoying. He had seen some pretty interesting looking monsters…and he'd thought he'd seen them all travelling the worlds by himself…Heartless, alright. Satyrs, sure. Gods and demi-gods, fine, great. But a talking duck and a dog were a _bit_ far-fetched…

Maybe the fact that when he was a little kid he used _eat_ ducks and had secretly taken care of a puppy for a while had_something_to do with it…Cloud shook his head. Nope. Talking animals, except for moogles, were just weird.

A gust of wind blowing past his ear informed Cloud that he wasn't alone. He didn't reach back for his sword, instead, just kept staring out across the big emptiness of Hollow Bastion.

"…Hey…Vincent…"

The red-cloaked man took a seat next to him.

"Your friends are getting suspicious…" he said softly.

"…it's alright…"

Vincent looked at him, his eyes showing a hint of concern.

"…They're worried, especially Tifa and Aer--" Vincent cut himself off.

Cloud understood. Vincent too also found it hard to believe that Aerith was alive… When Cid had brought him to Hollow Bastion and she had come up to him like that…Cloud had found himself speechless, which wasn't saying much, but Cloud couldn't even think properly when she looked at him. He had watched her _die_…and there she was smiling at him, talking amiably, as if she had never met him before. He had felt…_almost_as awkward when he fell through the roof of her church on top of her…

"I understand…Cloud…"

"Understand what?"

"What turmoil your heart is in…"

"What?!?" he said looking up at the older man.

Vincent nodded, not looking at him.

"You wish to take revenge upon Sephiroth for the destruction of your home, your family, your friends, your world…Yet it seems that the only way to do it is through darkness…"

Cloud stared at Vincent surprised. He had just put into words exactly what he felt…

"…Nanaki was correct. The light is never truly gone. One just has to look hard enough…"

"…It's not like I haven't tried…" mumbled the blonde SOLDIER looking down at his hands.

"…Lucrecia…" Vincent whispered softly. Cloud looked up at him surprised. This would be the…third time that Vincent Valentine had ever mentioned Sephiroth's mother.

"I thought she was gone…but…She's still here…" said Vincent, looking up at the sky.

Cloud just listened to him in silence.

"After the Meteo Crisis, I began intensive research into the Jenova Project…I…I found Lucrecia's fragments embedded throughout the network…"

"Fragments?"

"Her soul integrated into a computer network…She recorded her work, her memories…she literally put her heart into that network…"

"And?"

Vincent grew silent.

The two of them just sat there, neither speaking. One listening to the other expectantly. The other not saying anything.

Cloud turned away from him. Clearly Vincent didn't like too much what had happened with that network…Had Lucrecia not provided the light Vincent so desperately needed to survive? No…of course she had. It was a private matter…

"Can sin be forgiven?" Cloud asked the man, returning his eyes to the skyline.

Vincent shrugged.

"Who knows…I've never attempted it myself…"

"Attempt?"

Vincent mouth twitched into a smirk.

"…I've already found my light within the darkness, Cloud…you'll just have to look for yours…"

Cloud looked at Vincent appreciatively standing up.

"Thanks…I'll let you know how it goes…" he said, leaving into the night.

As soon as the blonde was gone, Vincent turned to the dark-cloaked boy standing in the shadows.

"You have my thanks…Riku, for Lucrecia..."

"No problem, the disk was in the lab," answered a calm voice, "Promise you'll help Sora? He's kind of thick, so…"

"I understand…" nodded Vincent.

"Will he be alright? Cloud that is…" said Riku aloud.

Vincent shrugged.

"Hmph…who knows…"

Riku watched the blonde man's back as he disappeared into the night.

"I hope for all of our sakes he will be…If the Organization or those Remnants you told me about get their hands on him…" Riku trailed off there. "I don't want to think about it…"

8.8.8

Zexion knocked on Trix's door, holding a stack of books under his arm. He needed to talk to her about her…_condition_.

That strange discolouration of her skin was worrisome. Yesterday when he had grabbed her right arm to stop her from falling off of the stairs, she had winced far more than she should have…At least she didn't fall off into Oblivion. Zexion was not a physically strong person, in fact he was kind of surprised that when he had grabbed her that she hadn't pulled him down with her.

"Trix," he called, knocking on her door harder. "I need to talk to you…"

There was no sound from the other side of the door. He'd been standing there for five minutes. He took a whiff of the air. Yep, she was definitely in her room.

"Number XIV!" he shouted, banging harder.

Okay…the time for politeness was over. He opened a portal and stepped in.

Having never been in Trix's quarters he was quite surprised. It seemed as if there had been a war going on in there. Slash marks were all over the walls, and papers were all over the floor. He gave a small noise of disapproval. He hated seeing papers scattered around like that…

He heard a squeak of surprise, and turned to see Trix clutching her knees in a corner of her room.

In four long strides, Zexion was next to her. She seemed frightened…

"Stay away!!" she shouted, drawing herself into a tighter ball.

Zexion ignored the warning and grabbed her right arm, noting her pained expression.

"It's Jenova isn't it?" he said expressionlessly, "It's getting stronger, and the disease is spreading faster…"

He hauled her up to her feet.

"Come with me…" he said, opening up a portal, dragging her through with him.

When they appeared in his laboratory, Trix finally spoke.

"You knew?"

"The Superior, Vexen and myself know about your condition…The more perceptive of the others might have realized something by now…" he told her, shoving her onto the couch he had placed there years ago.

He walked to his lab bench and pulled out his water samples and syringes. He had been attempting to synthesize the water, or at least refine the substance into a suitable cure, but all of his efforts had been fruitless. There was something about it…as if whatever in the water itself wasn't complete. As of yet, he still didn't know what made that water so special…

"That's…water isn't it?" she said, pointing at the bottles he was holding, incredulity was written all over her face.

Zexion placed what he was holding onto a table, and then put a hand to his forehead in irritation. Just great. During all that time, Trix had decided to change her personality yet again.

"Number XIV, I do not have time for such pleasantries as this, so would you just co-operate with me? Or must I call for Vexen?" he asked her.

Trix immediately became serious and nodded. Number IV was infamous for his treatments…

"Show me your arm," he ordered her. Reluctantly, the silver-haired girl pulled back her sleeve and gloves. Zexion stifled a small noise of disgust.

The flesh had turned partially black, and smelled like it was rotting. This wasn't good.

He prepared his instruments.

"This is going to hurt…"

"Like I didn't know that…" growled Trix, clearly already in pain.

"How long have you had this?"

Trix shrugged.

"Dunno, ever since Sephiroth went kablooie…"

"Kindly refrain from using Demyx's childish expressions…"

"Well, that's how Reno told it to me…"

Zexion grew silent as he tapped a syringe. He wondered who this Reno was…

"Since when were you a medical specialist?" she asked him.

Zexion gripped her arm tight and injected the clear solution into a vein.

"I'm not," he told her as all of her muscles tightened with the pain.

"Well that's comforting…" she managed to get out between gritted teeth.

"Magic is my area of expertise," he said blandly, letting go of her. "Aggressive and status effects mainly…Curative magic is…not my strong point."

Trix giggled. Great she was being childish today.

"S-Sorry…" she said, trying to stop herself, "it's just that…you're younger than half of them but you're so much more serious…"

Zexion looked at her appraisingly. Through all those layers of falseness and feigned emotion, bits of an innate personality showed through. He retracted his previous thoughts about her being a cynic. If he was to make a more accurate guess, her Somebody had been almost Demyx-like.

"This is only a temporary measure," he said motioning towards the now empty syringe. "Until Vexen and I can refine whatever is in this water, the crystal Saix gave you is to be kept on at all times…"

"Oh…I knew something was fishy when he just shoved it in my face…" she said, pulling the small pendant out of storage space.

"It won't make this condition disappear, but it will possibly relieve the symptoms and suppress the Jenova cells inside you…to an extent."

Trix stood up and tied the string around her neck.

"Well…that's better…" she sighed tiredly, scratching her head, "Some of them have shut up at least…"

She looked up at Zexion. It still felt kind of strange having someone look _up_ at him. Before Roxas had come, in terms of age, Zexion had been the youngest, and the shortest.

"Thanks, Zexion…"

Zexion merely went back to his books and she portalled out of the room.

8.8.8

Trix came back to her room to find a crowd in there. Unsurprisingly, she found Demyx and Axel there, but for some odd reason, Xigbar, Xaldin and Lexaeus were there…Almost half the Organization…

"What are you guys doing here?" she asked, glaring at them her hands on her hips. Her glare was aimed particularly towards Demyx and Axel. Those two were almost assuredly there planning some sort of prank.

"Hey, Number XIV, do you _usually_ tear up the walls like that?" asked Xigbar grinning maniacally at her, gesturing towards the slashed up white walls.

Trix looked at the walls appraisingly. She had never noticed how badly ripped up they were. Usually she was in too much pain to really notice what she was doing.

"That doesn't answer my question," she said evenly, still glaring at them.

"We were worried 'bout you," said Axel by means of explanation, smiling. Trix narrowed her eyes. She wasn't buying it. They were Nobodies. They couldn't be worried. And nothing good ever came from Axel smiling like that.

"I'm going to need a better explanation than _that_…" she growled.

"OH! Hey! Look at the time!!" exclaimed Demyx in a falsely cheery voice, "It's time for that super important meeting that Xemnas was talking about!!" he said running for the door. Unfortunately for Demyx, Trix was blocking it.

"Ummm…"

Trix moved to the side to let him through. As he ran by, he heard her whisper in a low voice.

"You are _so_ dead…"

8.8.8

They sat in their respective places below the Superior, Trix in Roxas' spot, due to the fact that as of yet, didn't have an extra chair for her. Axel was irritable because of it. Number XIII's spot was Roxas's and that girl had no right to be sitting there.

"I have gathered all of you for a meeting of utmost importance," intoned the Superior. "We are going to bring our plans to another level…Beginning with a strike at Hollow Bastion."

Everyone sat mildly stunned for a moment…until Demyx spoke out loud.

"Oh, I get it!!" he exclaimed clapping his hands, "He means a Heartless invasion!!"

"No, he meant an army of dancing flowers…" grumbled Trix sarcastically.

"Number XIV," snapped Marluxia, "Do _not_ make light of my unique power, since I _have_ one…"

"I wasn't talking about you Flower Power…"growled Trix dangerously.

Axel had to keep himself from snickering. Number XIV and Number XI seriously had some sort of rivalry going on…Marluxia must have been pissed off by the fact that he'd been beaten by a Nobody who actually wasn't that special…Trix didn't have any special powers, no definite elemental affinity. She was just a very fast, average fighter, and average spell-caster…In short, she was average. If it came to speed, Larxene could probably beat her. If it came to brute strength, Lexaeus was infinitely better. Fighting technique, Axel could best her. Spell-casting abilities, Vexen and Zexion were years ahead of her; and her defense wasn't the greatest in the world. The only people she could probably beat were Demyx and Luxord.

But the fact that she was relatively all-around, with a slight emphasis on speed made her useful. She'd be able to hold her own in a fight, and if it came to battle with the Keyblade Master…she could win…mainly since Sora was a bit thick.

"Enough! This pointless bickering is what I have been trying to purge…We feel nothing," growled the Superior.

Trix made a small noise of irritability and then grew silent, her face an expressionless mask. Marluxia followed suit.

"Now listen carefully, these will be your roles…"

* * *

**So, Riku had a very, very tiny appearance here. Sort of. He's normal! hooray!**

**Until next update...which will be in god knows how long... **


	10. Chapter 10

**Well, whaddya know...I'm updating...for once...Because I'm in a computer lab...This one is pretty long...because...umm...I'm putting the whole Atlantica sojourn here...including the random moment with Cloud...because...I'm too lazy to cut it out...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy or whatever. Otherwise, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction.**

* * *

Sora rubbed his nose tiredly. He'd been sneezing so often recently… Maybe he'd caught a cold or something…

" 'Scuse me…" he said apologetically to his friends, who were still wincing from the volume of his last sneeze.

Within the close quarters of the Gummi Ship, Sora's sneezes were deafening.

"Geez Sora! If you're cold, put another sweater on or something!"

"I'm not sick! I just…I have allergies!!"

"To what? The Gummi Ship is a very sterile environment!!" declared Donald irritably.

Sora shrugged.

"I dunno…sumthin."

A phone started ringing somewhere.

"Sora, get the phone!"

"Where?? Since when did we have a phone with _that _ring tone??" he asked, moving his hands in a beseeching manner.

_Doot doo doo Doot doot doo Doot doo dooooooo…_

"A-hyuck! I found it!!" exclaimed Goofy, picking up the phone with its victorious ring tone.

"Hello?" Goofy said, flipping it open.

"When did we get that one?" asked Donald warily.  
Sora shrugged.

"I think Tifa gave it to me…called it a PHS or something like that…"

"Gwarsh Sora, it's for you! It's Marlene and Denzel!"

Sora took a few steps towards his friend and took the phone.

"Hello, Sora speaking…"

"Hey Denzel! It worked! We have a trans-dimensional phone that works underwater!!" he heard Marlene say excitedly.

"What does 'trans-dimensional' mean?"

"I dunno, Tifa called it that…"

"Ummm…Marlene?" said Sora tentatively.

"Ohh…HI SORA!!" shouted the young girl into the phone. She sounded lively. When Sora had seen her, Sebastian the hermit crab had given her a role in his musical as a part of the chorus. She seemed to have been enjoying herself there in Atlantica, being a mermaid and all…

"Umm, Daddy said to call you because there are some strangers here…They kind of showed up out of nowhere," said the little girl on the other end of the line.

"The Organization??"

"I don't know…but…one of them has Geostigma…"

"Geostigma?"

"It's a disease…Denzel's got it too. Only people from my world have Geostigma…"

Sora nodded, even though the girl couldn't see him.

"Alright, we're on our way…" he told her reassuringly, "Donald, we're going to Atlantica!!"

"Why?"

"Marlene thinks she might have seen some people from the Organization, or at least from their world…Anyway, we could probably take the three of them to Hollow Bastion too…After the musical that is…"

8.8.8

Demyx was swimming circles in joy. He _loved_ Atlantica. All this water, and sea-life…He felt perfectly at home under the sea. Here he wasn't tripping over his own feet, or stumbling or anything! In this place, _he _wasn't the klutz.

Trix stared at her new pale-green tail with a sort of bewildered disgust.

"We're fish…" she said softly.

"No!" corrected Demyx, "We're mer-people! Isn't this awesome??" he asked her, pulling off tricks underwater.

"…"

Trix turned to Xigbar who seriously looked like he regretted ever coming.

"Why did you let _him _choose?" she asked the older man accusingly.

"Watch your mouth Trixy, I don't care for that tone…"

"Suck it up old man…"

"Technically today was supposed to be _your_ turn, but since you know like…three worlds, the decision was given to Demyx…" answered Axel grumpily.

He _hated_ this place. First off, he was a pyromaniac. You couldn't burn squat under water. Secondly, he had a bright red tail. He didn't have anything wrong with the colour…it was just that he had a _fish_ tail…he _hated_ fish. He'd rather eat Zexion's pickled vegetables for three weeks than eat a fish, or any type of sea-food…Why had he even agreed to come along today? This holiday really sucked.

As a pre-cursor to their invasion of Hollow Bastion, the Superior had given his Nobodies two weeks to go sight-seeing and relax. Though they couldn't feel emotions or anything of the sort, for some reason they could get stressed and Xemnas had decided that they needed sometime to unwind. The rest of the Organization started to do different things. Most of them, except for Naminé, Marluxia and Larxene went out into the worlds to get some R and R...

Demyx insisted on showing Trix the sights of other worlds, and had wheedled Axel into coming with him. Xigbar decided to tag along, and had somehow…Demyx wasn't exactly sure why, but Zexion was here too.

Zexion seemed to be the only one, other than Demyx who seemed to be at ease in the water. Truthfully, no sooner had they arrived Zexion had swum off in the direction of some seaweed, and was presently picking some of the stuff.

"Don't tell me he's going to be cooking with that crap…" groaned Axel to no one in particular.

"It won't be that bad…maybe he'll make sushi…" said Trix hopefully.

"Sushi?"

"Raw fish with rice…sometimes with dried seaweed wrapped around it…" she answered.

"Raw fish?"

"RAW FISH??" screeched Demyx horrified.

Trix shrugged, indifferent to Demyx's outburst.

"In TURK, the senior members took us up to Wutai once…I had some there…it was good."

"Raw fish…" stammered Demyx shakily, "T-that's just wrong!! You shouldn't eat fish!!"

he exclaimed pointing at Trix accusingly.

"What did you think dinner was last night?" she asked him with mock surprise. Xigbar looked at her grinning.

"Number XIV, stop scaring Demyx, he's _sensitive_ remember?"

"Like I care…"

"Says the girl who wants to move to Twilight Town, run a restaurant and own three cats?" said Axel with feigned surprise.

"Hey, better than you, Mr. I'm-going-to-incinerate-the-Pride Lands- just-to-watch-it-burn," retorted Trix.

Demyx sighed. Why couldn't Trix get along with anyone?? Maybe the thing that Xemnas made them do after the meeting really got to her. After the plans and orders had been given out, the Superior had made them go around in a circle and tell everyone what they wanted to do when they got their hearts back. For a reason Demyx couldn't fully comprehend, everyone's first response was 'Kill Demyx'. Why all of his buddies would say that was just so…hurtful! Contrary to what everyone might think, Demyx wasn't an absolute idiot. He knew he was kind of slow, he knew he was weak and he knew he was clumsy. But he tried, and that's what mattered…right?

"Hey Trix…where'd you get that nasty bruise…" asked Demyx pointing at her partially blackened right forearm.

"Nowhere…" she growled, crossing her arms. "Demyx, you said you wanted to show me around right?"

She was avoiding the question…noted Demyx. Even he could see that. She clearly didn't want to talk about it, so he decided to let it go.

"Alright!" he said putting on a cheery smile. "Let's go further in and see if there's any band opportunities!"

"Band opportunities? Why…why am I even asking you this?" started Axel before muttering to himself.

Demyx decided to not notice that comment, and started swimming in the direction of his home…No, he'd abandoned that. This place wasn't his home. This was Edym's and his sisters home. Demyx slowed as he thought. How long had it been since he'd actually thought about his Other?

A really long time…In fact he couldn't consciously remember a lot of his Other…But that had been a choice of his. It was too hard on his mind to remember Edym's memories and emotions, so he 'forgot'. They were different from Roxas that way, who honestly didn't know a thing…

Demyx kind of guessed that everyone except the Original Six thought that way about their Others too…well, maybe not Zexy, but he was a hard guy to understand. He never spoke, and whenever he did it was usually something really mean. But he also made really good tea and pickled vegetables…so Demyx was kind of confused. Any guy who could cook couldn't _possibly_ be a mean person.

"Hey, what's the matter Demyx?" asked Trix concernedly, looking at him not unkindly. This was completely different than her mocking attitude three minutes earlier.

"Nothing…" he answered, pausing. "Hey Trixy…is there anything that you know you could never forget, but do?"

"Sure, lots of stuff…"

"No, not just regular things, but like…_Other _things," he said emphasizing the one word.

Trix herself, paused this time, thinking it over.

"Yeah…but those kind of things that shouldn't be forgotten…we never really do forget them…because they're kind of painful, but I force myself to remember…it gives me motivation…I guess…" she answered.

"Moti-what?" stammered Demyx. He didn't know that word too well. In fact…she'd hardly made any sense at all…

"A reason to keep going," answered Axel, swimming up between them, grinning. "Whatcha talking about?"

"Memory," answered Trix tersely.

_Ooohh…this was an interesting turn; a deceptive cadence into the relative minor of the dominant..._thought Demyx.

"Unlike the two of you, I don't deny the fact that I remember things," she said, "I prefer to be perfectly in control of all my thoughts and actions…"

"Which makes you a smart-talking wise-ass kid…" said Axel smiling.

"Exactly," she answered smirking.

8.8.8

Cloud walked around town, desperately trying to avoid Tifa, Vincent or anyone who could possibly know what was on his mind. To everyone else, he was just Sephiroth-hunting…but to those two, they'd know. Aerith had tried talking him into going out for a walk with her. She knew something was bothering him and had honestly just wanted to help, but the moment she had started talking to him, with those green eyes looking up into his, with that smile…He couldn't take it anymore, and he had run away from her. By now Squall and the rest of the Restoration committee would have heard about it, and some of them, definitely not Squall, would put things on hold to go look for him. Cid would complain about him being such a spiky pain in the ass, Yuffie would see all of it as a game of hide-and-seek, Rinoa would be concerned and would badger Squall about not going to help, and Tifa would be worried…Vincent wasn't on the committee. The red-caped man was hardly in Hollow Bastion anymore, since he could travel dimensions like a Nobody.

He couldn't take it anymore. The pain was getting to be too great. Not just the pain in his heart, but his arm as well. He'd kept it hidden from everyone three months after they defeated Sephiroth for the first time. Cloud had been the first to notice Geostigma, though at the time, he believed that it was only him…the taint from being in SOLDIER…Little did he know, that every other former Shin-Ra employee in that program had died only a few days before Meteor came crashing down upon the Planet.

Innocents who had had nothing to do with SOLDIER started turning up with the disease…including Denzel. The little boy tried to hide the pain, but it was getting worse, Cloud knew…

"What do you hope to accomplish, Cloud?" asked a familiar voice behind him.

Cloud kept on walking, knowing that the former TURK would continue to dog his footsteps. He didn't answer. Vincent was probably the one person who could truly understand his situation, having been infused with dark power himself, and yet Cloud just pushed him away. He felt disgusted with himself. Everyone was trying to help, but he just brushed them off…They were his friends, right? He shouldn't be doing this to them…

"…Cloud…you have Geostigma, don't you?" said the red-eyed man, walking up right behind him and gripping the Ex-SOLDIER's covered arm tightly. Cloud grimaced in pain.

"There's no cure. The only thing I can do is get rid of the one who embodies all of the darkness within me…at least then my heart will be at ease…"

"…are you sure about that?" asked Vincent, letting go of the blonde man's arm. "You're seeking revenge for the loss of your home, your family, your world…at the cost of your friends. Is it worth it?"

"Are you going to tell me if it is?"

"No…it is something one must find themselves."

"Then I'll just keep looking for old silver-hair…" answered Cloud coldly, walking away into the night.

8.8.8

Zexion stared expressionlessly from backstage at all the things going on around him. How in the name of Kingdom Hearts had this all happened? Demyx had somehow gotten himself drafted into some crab's musical, as had Xigbar, Trix and Axel. Apparently the Keyblade Master, his party, a girl named Rinoa and some other girl named Ariel were missing for the performance, so the four of them, who had just been following the Nocturne, were filling in for them.

Well, they hadn't been given much of a choice, seeing as the crab had practically pushed them on stage.

"What the crap?!" exclaimed Trix loudly as the four of them found themselves in the spotlight.

The four Nobodies traded looks, Xigbar looking towards Zexion for some sort of assistance. The Cloaked Schemer just shrugged.

_What am I supposed to do?_

Axel looked perfectly ready to just warp out of Atlantica entirely, and to hell with the consequences. Trix was clearly set to murder a few people, and Xigbar just looked disgusted. Truly for the orchestrator of this entire event, this had to be the worst possible occurrence.

Fortunately it was Demyx who saved poor Sebastian the crab's musical with an improvisation.

At first Demyx had stared at the huge crowd his mouth hanging open, looking absolutely stunned, and then suddenly got this huge grin on his face.

Summoning up his sitar, he started playing. It wasn't the song he used for fighting, but a different one, which Zexion recognized as one the Nocturne blasted through the Hall of Empty Melodies from time to time.

When Demyx started singing, Zexion felt his eyebrow twitch. He hated this particular song… On top of the Nocturne bordering on the tone deaf, and playing the song at indecent volume levels, one particular incident had involved one of Demyx's water clones exploding over Zexion's work. Needless to say, Demyx had learned that paper cuts could be incredibly deadly. However, the public of Atlantica seemed to love it…Zexion was pretty sure that he'd be going home with a migraine….

"Hey, mister! I haven't seen you around here before!" Zexion turned to see a six-year old girl with long brown hair floating behind him. Beside her was an orangey-coloured haired boy of about the same age. Behind them was a huge dark man with a prosthetic arm.

"Did Sebastian ask you to join the musical too?" asked the little girl.

"Marlene! What have I told you 'bout talkin' to strangers??"

"Ooops!" squeaked the little girl, before turning back to the grey-haired young man.

"I'm sorry, I'm not supposed to talk to you, but could you answer anyway?" she asked him. "You don't have to answer to me, but you could just tell my dad…"

"Marlene!"

8.8.8

Sora swam in circles just to make sure he hadn't forgotten how to swim with a tail.

"You guys ready?"

"Uh-hyuck! Sure are!" exclaimed Goofy the turtle.

"Alright! Let's find those Organization guys!!" declared Sora.

"Sora…we don't know if they're Organization…Marlene said that one of them had a disease that only exists in Midgar…they could just be survivors…" said Donald carefully.

"R-Right…" stammered the spiky-haired boy, sheepishly. He hadn't thought of that. Any mention of the Organization could seriously get him wound up…They really knew how to drive him up the wall. Every world they went to, it seemed that people in dark cloaks were always brought trouble and Heartless with them…and they were always one step ahead of him. It made him soo mad!!

A yellow and blue striped fish came swimming towards them.

"Sora! Donald! Goofy! Good to see you!!" exclaimed their fishy friend.

"Flounder! How's it been?"

The little fish looked sheepish.

"Not too well…Ariel got mad at her dad and Sebastian again…so she kind of bailed on the musical…"

Sora looked thoughtful for a moment. Musical? It sounded really familiar…

"OH NO!! I completely forgot!!" said Sora in horror, "Wasn't the big performance supposed to be today?"

Flounder nodded vigorously.

"Yeah! That's why I was looking for you guys and Ariel! Sebastian's panicking and everything's going crazy!!"

Sora nodded.

"Okay then! You should check her secret place. We'll go set Sebastian's mind at ease." he told the little fish, who swam off obediently to look for his best friend.

"Marlene and Denzel are also in the musical. We can ask them about the strange people they mentioned." He said decisively. If they weren't from the Organization, then all the better for him… if not, then so much the worse for the Nobodies.

8.8.8

When Demyx was finally able to get off stage, the Nocturne was gushing with enthusiasm and delight.

"Didja see that?? They actually _liked_ my song!! They _liked_ it!!" he told them joyously.

Trix looked boredly at him and nodded.

"Yes, yes…the screaming fan-girls were enough for me to figure _that_ out…"

Just then the red hermit crab that had drafted them into that incredibly awkward musical came scuttling over, yammering away his gratitude.

"Dat was vonderful! Dough that deedn't feet weeth thee theeemes, it was vonderful!!" exclaimed the crab.

"Thanks!!" smiled Demyx brightly at that.

"P-Prince?" stammered the crab, backing away slightly from the Melodious Nocturne.

"What?" said Axel coming over, finally interested.

"Y-Yoo couldn't be Prince Edym??"

Demyx frowned, and glanced towards Axel who just shrugged. He didn't recognize the name.

"Who?"

The crab waved a claw dismissively.

"Eet does not matter…A meestake! I cannot theenk properly since Ariel has gotten me and King Triton so worried…"

"Ariel? What's happened to Ariel??" Demyx burst out, before realizing the words were out of his mouth. He floated there rather stunned at his own reaction, before shaking his head. The crab just stared at them.

Trix looked at him appraisingly.

"This what you meant? 'Bout forgetting things that can't be forgotten?" she asked. "If so, then yeah. There are lots of things like this…" she glanced towards Zexion who was engaged in a conversation with a very familiar black man with a prosthetic arm.

Trix's eyes rested on the two kids with him.

"It's mostly just names, and it's never you specifically…but you mostly remember the ones important to them," she said louder for Demyx to hear. The crab clearly had no idea what they were talking about, and was rather disturbed by her switch into the third person.

"Sorry Mr. Crab…but I don't know who you think I am, but I'm definitely not a Prince," smiled Demyx apologetically.

"Sebaastian!!" called the little girl, swimming over. "Is it time for our part yet?"

"No, no, no Marlene! Ariel has gone somewhere, and Sora and his friends aren't here yet!"

The girl, Marlene pouted.

"But I called him just a few hours ago! He said he'd be here!!"

Trix gave Demyx a meaningful look. 'We're getting out of here. NOW.'

Demyx nodded.

"Well, thanks Mr. Crab!" said Demyx flipping himself towards the exit, following Trix.

He didn't want to meet the Keyblade Master, though he wanted to see Roxas again. He had been his friend…well, partner in crime. They used to drop water bombs on anyone who passed beneath the Hall of Empty Melodies…they'd gotten into so much trouble together…He missed the kid…though that mission in the Underworld had been scary. Dogs were _not_ supposed to have three heads. That was just WRONG. WRONG. WRONG. WRONG!!

"Wait!!" shouted the crab after them. Demyx had half the mind to stop and turn around, but Trix dragged him away. She seemed to have gotten the hang of swimming with a tail.

"No time. He already knows what we look like, so best not to get caught here…" she said, not unkindly.

She understood perfectly what he was thinking/feeling right now, Demyx realized. It was the same for her… His mind was a complete jumble of another person's memories and his own thoughts. He _had_ been a Prince…a mer-prince…Not the most responsible one, but he _had _been one.

Second youngest out of eight kids…there was no way in hell he was going to succeed the throne…

But he was Demyx too…the guy who couldn't stop tripping over his own feet. The twenty-something year old Nobody whom everyone wanted to shut up. He was the most useless member of Organization XIII who fought with a musical instrument.

Trix understood that duality to their lives as Nobodies…That's why she was in the Organization.

Demyx felt his body change from fins to feet, and his surroundings becoming the familiar area known as the World that Never Was. A place between light and dark…not one, and not the other…the one place in all existence, beyond existence…_I think…_

"Demyx, just so you know, this is the _last_ time I agree to go with you on any sort of trip…" grumbled Axel, to which Trix nodded.

"Aw, come on guys! It wasn't _that_ bad was it?"

"…It was…"

"C'mon!! Don't be such spoil sports! Truth is you guys actually had fun!!" insisted Demyx.

"Demy, I don't know whether you were hit over the head by a fangirl or something…but that was _not_ fun!" growled Trix.

Great…she'd gone and switched personalities again. It was kind of expected. Flat-seven six of five, going to five…yeah, it made sense…sort of.

"Hey…you just called me Demy!" exclaimed Demyx.

Trix bristled at that, before glaring at Axel.

"That's it…I've been spending too much time with you lot…I'm going to the library…" she sighed, opening up a portal and stepping through.

8.8.8

"Hey there Sebastian…" said Sora, scratching the back of his neck nervously. They were late…

Sebastian didn't seem as flustered as he thought he'd be surprisingly.

"Yoo are laaate!! And where is Aariell??"

"Flounder's looking…" Sora started when a clear voice rang out through the water.

"I'm here!" declared the red-headed mermaid, swimming towards them, Flounder by her side.

"I'm sorry Sebastian…" apologized King Triton's youngest daughter. "I almost ruined the show…but, who got the crowd so energized?" asked the girl. "Everyone was screaming and shouting…"

Barrett suddenly burst into the backstage room with Denzel and Marlene close behind him.

"Barrett! Denzel! Marlene!" exclaimed Sora, pleased to see them. Sora's expression soon fell, seeing the look on the big man's face.

"Where the & did that brat go??" growled the ex-Midgardian…

"DADDY!! YOU PROMISED!!" reproached Marlene. Denzel nodded quietly on the side.

Barrett looked abashed and apologized, first to his daughter, and then to Denzel.

"Ummm…Barrett?"

"OH! SORAA!!" exclaimed Marlene swimming up to hug him.

"You're here! You're here!! How was the trip? Did Tifa have a message for us? Is Cloud okay? Where's Vincent? Is Mister Reeve okay? Did Rinoa find her boyfriend??" asked the girl.

"Uhhhhhhh…"

"Ah-hyuck! They're all fine in Hollow Baaastion! And so is Aerith! She said she'd love to meet you all!"

Barrett looked surprised.

"Aerith?? The Ancient girl?"

"Ancient? Aerith? You know her?" asked Sora confused. Aerith wasn't _that_ old…not older than Barrett for sure…

"Brown hair, green eyes, sells flowers, yeah I kno-knew her," said Barrett correcting himself.

"What do you mean _knew_?" asked Donald, probably even more confused that Sora was at that moment.

"Nothin'…nothin'…So, what are you guys doin' here?"

"Marlene phoned us."

"WHAT??"

"AAHHH-HEMMM!!" Sebastian cleared his throat loudly.

"Sorry…" chorused Sora and company sheepishly.

"You are on in FIVE minutes! Only thanks to Edym…" Sebastian started to mutter.

"EDYM?? EDYM WAS HERE??" exclaimed Ariel shocked.

"Who's Edym??" asked Sora.

"No Aarielll! It wasn't Edym! He just looked like him, I mean he didn't, not really…and the man said he wasn't himself!!" said Sebastian, desperately trying to avoid something here…

"Edym is my brother…" Ariel told Sora, completely ignoring her supervisor.

"Princess!!" pleaded Sebastian, though for what, Sora didn't know.

"You have a brother??" was all he asked. He'd thought that King Triton only had seven daughters…

The mermaid princess nodded.

"He's just a little older than me. He was such a sweet heart…He liked to play pranks on me and my sisters as much as he liked playing music on his sitar," Ariel smiled at the memories, whereas Sebastian looked as if he was going to have sudden heart failure any moment now.

"What happened to him?" asked Marlene, interested.

"He disappeared…the day the Heartless came, he left the palace and never came back…" Ariel looked sad.

"Hey…" Sora started to say, hoping to offer some sort of comforting words of some sort.

Ariel shook her head.

"It's okay…"

"Aariell…the king will be furious…" moaned Sebastian, recognizing the futility of trying to stop her from speaking.

"Why would that be?"  
"Because Daddy's forbidden anyone to speak of Edym. Eddy had such a big fight with him that day… I don't know what about…"

"One minute!!" exclaimed Sebastian.

"But its only been…" Goofy started to say, but the red hermit crab interrupted him.

"Ariel! No time to talk! You're on now!!" said the crab propelling all of them towards the stage.

Sora glanced towards Barrett.

"Oh, yeah! I'll take you all to see Cloud and everyone else!!"

The big man didn't seem to notice at all.

"Teef gave her a phone and didn't tell me?? It's all that spiky haired jerk's fault!!"

* * *


End file.
